Angel's Demon

by CWBitner

Summary:

I removed the summary as I would like all curious readers to skip ahead to the next work in the series: "Angel's Demon: Book One". It is a more definitive version of this story: longer, and much more in-depth, as well as, I think? Better written. I kept this version posted as a reminder that for once, I finished a story I started, and even took another 6 months to try to make it as good as I could - and that I hope the readers enjoy the adventures ahead.

Chapter 1: Prologue & Reunion

As the vibrant yellow sun slowly dipped below the horizon of Heaven's vast, ethereal ocean, a majestic angel stood with his eyes closed against the railing of a luxurious suite at one of Heaven’s many grand resorts. Immersed in deep meditation, he listened intently to the soothing sound of the gentle waves lapping against the white sandy shore below. His thoughts, however, constantly betrayed him as his fingers idly toyed with a quartz crystal amulet that hung from a shimmering gold chain around his neck. Try as he might, they kept drifting back to the events of the day when, as a designated High Angel, he had attended a court hearing with the Princess of Hell. Somehow, she had managed to secure an audience with the esteemed High Seraphim Sera, her protégé Emily, and the First Man himself, Adam, which had made an immediate impression on the angel. As he listened to the Morningstar's daughter present her case, he found her idea of rehabilitating sinners so they could ascend to Heaven to be truly noble. Intrigued by her idea, he would have supported her cause were it not for the degrading behavior of the court as they argued over what it takes to get into Heaven. The angel was genuinely confused that the Seraphim could not provide any answers to Princess Morningstar’s challenge.

Despite making a list of what it takes to ascend, which the exhibit known as Angel Dust accurately checked off, The High General Adam and his lieutenant were adamantly against it, cruelly citing that Hell is forever. The other angels of the court argued amongst each other on the merits of both sides’ arguments, but he would not take part in it. Instead, he watched quietly, listened intently, and when Adam revealed that he sent exorcists to Hell every year to execute a selection of the populace, and now declared that his army would first target The Princess' hotel in their next scheduled attack in a month, he approached Sera with deep concern after the hearing. He questioned the wisdom of these executions, but Sera abruptly shut him down. With a deep sigh, she told him that while she appreciated his position as a High Angel, this matter was above his station, and she advised him to purify his thoughts and not speak of it again. The angel reluctantly obeyed and returned to his suite, where he took a spot on the balcony and tried to focus his mind on meditation and forget the events of the day.

Never having had such difficulty focusing his thoughts before, the High Angel closed his eyes more tightly, letting a single thought seep through if he could have helped the princess, he would have done so. As he worked to return to a calm state of meditation, he did not notice the quartz crystal in his amulet begin to glow softly. A gentle hum grew from a tiny whisper to a more powerful beat, gradually growing louder and stronger. He opened his eyes to see an orb of white light emerge from the crystal, and watched as it hovered in front of him. It stayed there for a moment, bobbing slightly, before exploding in a blinding flash. Stunned, the angel raised his arms to block the brightness, which dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, the angel gasped as pain flashed through his head. Memories suddenly flooded his mind, including his time on Earth, his sister, his comrades in the Special Forces, his life saving the helpless, the day he died, and shocking memories of the Princess of Hell herself. These memories caused him to feel true fear for her, fear for the woman he loved, and he whispered her name under his breath: “Charlie!”

The angel hastily tucked the amulet under his robes stepped back from the railing, and unfurled his great white and blue wings. With a single burst of power, he shot straight up into the sky and bolted toward the great metropolis of Heaven's capital city.

 

***

 

In The First Man's apartment next to Heaven's Capital, Adam and Lute were lounging comfortably in gravity chairs, drinking and laughing, enjoying the execution that would take place in a month. A loud knock on the door disturbed them. Grumbling, Adam rolled his eyes, "Go away!"

The second set of thumps was louder and harder. Lute started to get up but Adam waved his hand, “No, I’ll take care of this!”

Adam jumped out of his chair, his drink still in his hand. He stalked to the door and yanked it open to see the angel from the beach standing there.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Angel,” Angel said, pointedly.

“ No shit you’re an angel, I asked who you are, dumb ass!”

“Angel is my name, Adam. That’s all you need to know.”

“No shit?” Adam blinked, adding with a singular laugh, “Fucking lazy. What the fuck do you want?”

“I attended the court hearing today and heard you’re going to Hell in a month for an execution. I want in.”

Adam stuttered and almost spilled the rest of the drink he’d been sipping on, "Excuse me? Wh... no! We don't need you."

Angel’s demeanor didn’t change at the refusal, “Yes, you do. You know your Exorcist army can be harmed. You’ve gone into all previous executions with reckless abandon.”

“How the fuck do you know that?”

“I’m a High Angel, Adam,” Angel started with a truth and added a necessary lie, “I spoke to Sera and I understand why these executions take place, and I want to be a part of it.”

Having risen from her chair, Lute stepped over to the door, eyes cold, “Fuck off, prick! We got this!”

“No,” Angel's voice darkened, “You don’t. Morningstar and her motley crew will be training with the knowledge that you have weaknesses. They have a chance. You want them all dead, right? You need strategy for this one, and that’s what I do. I can make sure that the plan goes off without a hitch.”

Adam scoffed dismissively, but Lute had a thoughtful look on her face, “And what do you have to offer?”

“What? Are you seriously considering this asshole?”

“Angel is right about one thing. One of our numbers was killed in the last execution, and it’s not going to harm us to have more weapons and a strategy next time.” Lute looked at Angel, appraising him, “You’re a strategist, huh? Prove it. What do you have in mind?”

Lute stepped back to give Angel room to enter. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Adam tossed the rest of his drink back in one swallow.

“This better be fucking good!”

 

CHAPTER ONE - REUNION

 

One month later, the attack took place, and it was not going well for Charlie and her friends. Adam and the Exorcists had broken through the protective shield created by The Radio Demon, Alastor, that had surrounded the hotel. Exorcists swarmed the hotel in droves and Charlie, leading the charge, grimaced as she fended off each Exorcist with her shield, instinctively shouting, “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

Vaggie admonished her for going easy on their opponents, and Charlie responded by blasting a half dozen Exorcists to dust with Hellfire from her fingers. It was strange, though, how they had just come in on a pattern that was so easy to defend. Vaggie had explained what Carmilla Carmine had taught her about the Angelic Exorcists not fearing death, so they were not overly concerned with armor or tactics, but Charlie felt that they were unnecessarily opening themselves up with each attack, allowing her and her friends to easily reflect their assault. In fact, the Exorcists were falling faster, and seemingly easier, than she had anticipated.

It was in that very moment she noticed something that she’d missed before, an Exorcist that was staying in reserve, far in the air, directing the other Exorcist’s attacks, sending them down in small, manageable ways in patterns that felt oddly familiar to her, allowing for her and her friends to easily counter. Charlie barely had time to comprehend what all this meant, and turned her attention to covering her lover’s back. A blast knocked her and Vaggie down. 

Charlie was shocked to see it had come from Adam. “But! Alastor was supposed to handle him!  

***

In the sky above, Angel hovered separately from Adam and Lute, directing the Exorcists' attacks. He had successfully convinced the pair to hand over the control of the mission's tactics to him, so he could help Charlie and her friends from behind enemy lines. Angel noticed Charlie looking in his direction and his heart skipped a beat. He was concerned about her safety as she fought the Exorcists, but knew he was in the best position to help her at the moment. Angel watched as Adam destroyed a large attack ship that came from the side of the hotel, and realized that one of Charlie’s friends had fallen. Angel knew what that meant - a possible shift in the balance of the battle that could result in the death of the Princess of Hell.

Immediately, he knew his next action had to be to thin out the attacks and leave Adam alone and hopefully vulnerable. “Exorcists! Flank the cannibals on the outskirts, do not let them escape!”

“Yes, sir!” Said most, but a couple shouted, “But? Adam!”

“He has the Hell-spawn’s attention! This is what he wants, leave it to him!”

“Yes, sir!” 

The rest joined their sisters, flying to the edge of the battle, and now all he had to worry about was Adam and Lute. He knew Lute would go after Vaggie, having endured her for days on end as she cursed the fallen angel. Now he just had to figure out how to save Charlie. He had two options to consider. Either directly attack Adam himself and have all the Exorcists turn on him. This was the most direct option, and extremely risky as he knew Adam was more powerful than he was, but he could not count on Charlie or her army to watch his back without revealing himself to her, and in the heat of battle doing that would be problematic, at best. The other was more subtle and less reliable, but a much more powerful choice. If it failed, however, he’d have Adam’s attention and lose the element of surprise of a direct attack. Watching Charlie change into her demon form in rage and fly towards Adam, he felt a tug of memories and clutched the amulet under his robes to steady himself. Trusting in the power swelling inside him, Angel chose option two and concentrated, sending out a blast of magic, hoping it would not be noticed by Adam or Lute, but by the one he sent the pulse towards. His eyes shifted quickly and nervously, watching the Exorcist angels following his strategy, and he sadly grieved for the deaths he was helping to cause, both demons and angels alike. He knew this was what happened in war and never liked it, but accepted his role for Charlie. Floating subtly closer to the action while maintaining the air of being the strategist he was assigned to be, he watched in fear as Adam had Charlie by the throat. Thinking option two had failed, he was about to make a break for her when Lucifer finally appeared just as he’d hoped, saving Charlie and thoroughly trouncing Adam. Lucifer ducked a powerful blast from Adam, and it ripped through the hotel, sending Charlie falling through the shattering debris. Angel never had the chance to react before Lucifer flew down and plucked her out of the air, and he sighed in relief, smiling under his battle mask. Charlie then released her full power, claws growing long and large, something he saw once in person himself, and stopped Adam’s thrown fist. She and her dad whipped around and threw him into the ground, his impact forming a crater. Lucifer was about to deal the killing blow when Charlie stopped her him, saying Adam had had enough. Lucifer agreed to give Adam mercy, but Adam was having none of it. He screamed at them, gloating that he was The Man, The First , and they all should be worshiping him, when he was suddenly stabbed in the back by Niffty to the shock of everyone. 

“Niffty!” Charlie exclaimed in surprise.

Niffty looked at the group for a split second before going to town on Adam’s back with her angelic knife, “Stab! Stab, stab!” followed by manic laughter before jumping off to join her friends, who gave her a bit of space.

“NO!!” Lute cried out as she rushed to her fallen leader’s side, “Sir! Sir! Stay with me, Sir! ADAM!”

But Adam was dead, and Lucifer ordered Lute to take her army and leave. In anger and defeat, Lute commanded her Exorcist army to return to Heaven. As they flew through the portal, Angel slipped out of sight, determined to evade detection and remain behind. He knew that it wouldn't take long for Lute to discover his treachery and realize that he was the one responsible for the destruction of her army.

Angel landed just out of the sight of Lucifer, Charlie, and the others. He pulled his mask away and dropped it to the ground. He also shed off his warrior outfit. A feeling of disgust at what it represented wafted through his soul. Angel had kept his cool while meeting Adam, planning the execution, and playing his part to get here. However, what was about to happen caused the cracks in his confidence to widen. His emotions were starting to come back in full. These were emotions he’d forgotten since dying, and while it was coming back to him why he had forgotten, it did not comfort him.

The dust was thick and hid him from sight as he moved slowly towards everyone, and he heard Lucifer asking, in a forced light voice, trying to defuse the tension from the battle, “So, who’s up for pancakes?”

Angel thought to himself, "That's one way to open Pandora's box, isn't it?" As he stepped out of the clouds of dust, he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and tried to appear as unintimidating as possible. He caught their attention by responding, "Pancakes sound good."

As one entity, Charlie, Lucifer, Vaggie, and the others turned sharply. Weapons raised, and collective glares shared across their faces. But the glares on Charlie and Lucifer's faces changed to shock and astonishment.

“Angel!?” Charlie’s voice cracked as she dropped her pitchfork, taking a single step forward. Lucifer, on the other hand, had the faintest of smiles on his face.

“Of course, it’s an angel.” Husk quipped in annoyance, juggling his exploding dice, ready to attack.

“Charlie!” Angel’s voice broke equally, “You look just how I remember you. Horns, tail and all.”

Vaggie blinked in confusion, her heart stuttered a beat and her throat tightened as Charlie ran into Angel’s embrace and grabbed him around the waist in a way a long-lost lover would.

“Angel? Is it really you?” Charlie’s eyes glistened, wide and unbelieving, she gripped him tightly, shaking, afraid to let go, as if he were an illusion.

“It’s me, Charlie, I promise!” The crowd gasped as he bent and kissed Charlie, who not only accepted it but returned it passionately.

“Charlie?” Vaggie took a single step forward, swallowing hard.

Charlie broke the kiss with a gasp and turned towards Vaggie, who looked devastated and betrayed, her eyes pleading for answers.

“Angel, I am not often surprised, but it is good to see you.” Lucifer stepped up and offered his hand in greeting.

Angel saw Charlie staring sadly at Vaggie. He opened his arms for her to step away, which she quickly did, giving him a sad smile. Angel turned to Lucifer and took his hand, "You too, sir. It's been a long time."

“That it has. But not as long as I expected. Died young, I see?” Lucifer remarked, eyes soft.

“Yes.” Angel didn’t offer any details, as he side-eyed Charlie going over to Vaggie, realizing he may have caused a serious issue, but he continued to Lucifer, “I worked to save as many lives as I could, even though I knew it may mean going to Heaven when I died and never seeing Charlie, again. I don’t regret any of it, but…”

Lucifer nodded, “But you didn’t know things had changed.”

“No.” Real shame colored Angel’s face, “And I’m such a damned fool for assuming she’d be the same Charlie I lost.”

“She’s more than that now, but you can’t blame yourself,” Lucifer said, placing a hand on Angel’s shoulder, “I know how much you loved my daughter, and I haven't forgotten how you saved and protected her. So, I am not going to get involved in how you all work this out. Just know that if you choose to stay here in Hell, you’ll have a spot in my administration if you want it.”

“Thank you, Sir, “Angel sighed, “Considering what I’ve done, betraying Heaven and Charlie, I’ve earned my place in exile.”

“No, “Lucifer admonished, “She ran to you, too. When she saw you, everything came back to her, and she reacted just as I’d expected she would. I don’t blame her, and with time I don’t think Vaggie will, either.”

Angel looked over towards Charlie and Vaggie who were now out of earshot of everyone, and Charlie’s body language clearly told everyone she was trying to explain things. The others turned towards Angel and Lucifer, and they did not look happy, at all.

Angel Dust was the first to speak up, “Okay buddy, who the fuck are you?”

Cherri Bomb, on the other hand, just saw another Exorcist and nudged Niffty, “Niffty? Angel!” She pointed at Angel.

Niffty swiftly ran forward, knife in hand, “Stab! Stab!”

“STOP!” Lucifer shouted, eyes flaring red, causing everyone to freeze. He looked pointedly at Niffty, shaking his head with authority, “He is not to be harmed!”

Niffty pouted but obeyed and stepped back to the group.

Husker shook his head, outraged, “But he kissed Charlie!”

“Yeah, he just grabbed her like some cheap pus…” Angel Dust stopped himself abruptly, cursing inside that he almost insulted Charlie, and corrected with “Like he owned her!”

“And you’re defending him?” Cherri Bomb asked incredulously, her temper rising.

Lucifer silenced their arguments with a single look. His gaze softened as he saw Charlie walking back to the group. They all gathered around her to show their support. Charlie conveyed her gratitude with her eyes and then turned towards Angel, biting her lip. "Angel, I'm so sorry. I should have..."

Angel stepped forward, ignoring the group's glares, and embraced Charlie. She melted in his arms as he said, "No, Charlie. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I assumed that once I found you, you would be just as I left you. I didn't think about your feelings or your heart. I was so fucking selfish."

Charlie gazed up at Angel's distressed expression, her eyes welling up with tears. "It's not your fault," she exclaimed. "I lost control when I saw you, all those memories came flooding back. I'm surprised I let them be forgotten in the first place!”

At that, Charlie gave her father a look no one but them understood. “I held onto you because, for a moment, I thought you were just an illusion. I kissed you, hoping to make you real! But in that moment, I was blinded by my emotions and I ended up hurting Vaggie so badly!" The last words were uttered through sobs.

“What did you tell her?” Angel wiped a few tears away from Charlie’s cheek.

“Nothing really, I barely could get out how sorry I was, that you were from my past, long ago, and I was so shocked you were here.” Charlie sniffed, “She said she needed to be alone and walked away into the ruins.”

Angel looked over Charlie’s head to the destroyed hotel, thinking. He steeled himself and said, “We have to tell her everything.” He looked down to her, “And Charlie? If I’d known? I would not have shown myself to you in this way. I am so sorry for causing you strife.”

Charlie tightened her grip around Angel, “I am so-so-so happy to see you. I am so-so-so glad you are here, now!” She broke the grip and took a step back, “I never stopped loving you, but I am in love with Vaggie now. I can’t lose her!”

“You won’t!” Angel swore, “We tell her the truth, all of it! What happened to you and with us! Your hotel is about forgiveness and redemption, right?”

Charlie turned to the ruins with sad eyes, “What’s left of it, yes.”

“Then this time it’s us that needs to ask for forgiveness.”

Charlie agreed to this and turned to her friends. “I know you’re all confused, and I will explain everything, I promise you. But right now, I need to focus on Vaggie. I need her to listen!”

“She will, “Lucifer promised, “I am going on ahead and have a word with her.”

“Dad?”

“You said you wouldn’t interfere.” Angel reminded him.

“Don’t worry. Trust me.” Lucifer winked before disappearing in a puff of sulfur.

Charlie shivered, and Angel put his hand on her shoulder. The group embraced Charlie, and Angel Dust promised, “We believe in you, Charlie. We trust you.”

As they walked towards the ruins of their home, they found Charlie’s cat, KeeKee, shaking dust off itself and mewing softly. Charlie picked her up and held her close. She watched Angel Dust reunite with his pig, Fat Nuggets, and smiled briefly before her gaze fell on the fallen banner of Sir Pentious’s first week in the hotel. Charlie choked, “He sacrificed himself for us.”

“I know,” Angel sighed. “I focused on planning a strategy that would give you the advantage, but Adam wasn’t forthcoming with details about your friends. He didn’t consider them a threat, so I had to strategize with the intel I’d been given.”

“4-D chess,” Charlie said, remembering the past as she stroked the kitty with a wistful smile. “He reminds me of you, Angel.”

“How so?” Cherri Bomb asked, feeling a personal sense of loss for Sir Pentious.

Charlie sighed, “It will all make sense, I promise. I just hope Vaggie will let me explain.”

 

***

 

Vaggie was sitting on the jagged ruins of the hotel, crying. She didn't notice Lucifer until he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up hopefully, thinking it was Charlie, but sighed softly upon seeing it was her father.

"I'm going to say something, and you will listen to me and not interrupt. Are we clear?" Lucifer said in a serious tone. Vaggie nodded with pursed lips and Lucifer continued, "You stood by and supported Charlie through everything, for her dreams, and you did it out of love. Love has many meanings, Vaggie. Among them is giving the one you love a chance to prove themselves. It's your duty as her lover to listen to her, to let her explain herself. But, I will give you a bit of a spoiler to help your heart decide."

Vaggie tilted her head, confused, staying silent as commanded. Lucifer looked over her shoulder in the direction of the group, fondness in his voice, "If it wasn't for that man, Charlie might not be here today."

"Sir?" Vaggie asked, puzzled.

Lucifer held his hand out, offering to help her stand, "It's one Hell of a story, if you'll pardon a cheap pun. Come."

Nodding once, Vaggie took his hand to help her stand. Her legs felt weak, but her will was strong, and she let Lucifer guide her back to the others.

 

***

 

Vaggie heard Charlie’s fearful wish, as she stepped from around the ruins, and spoke firmly, “I will. You gave me a chance after you learned about my past. I can do no less for you.”

Charlie ran to Vaggie, the kitty squirming away as she embraced her girlfriend tightly, “I love you, Vaggie, so-so-so much. I'm so sorry I hurt you!”

Vaggie mussed Charlie’s hair, “I love you, too, Charlie,” then looked to Angel, “Lucifer told me that if it wasn't for you, Charlie might not even be here today. That alone, you get my full attention,” She gave Charlie an adoring look, ”and my gratitude.”

Curious looks covered the collective faces of Charlie’s friends, and Angel bowed his head respectfully, “Thank you, Vaggie. I owe you an explanation and a thousand apologies. But it occurs to me that there is a lot of rebuilding to be done. Trust. Understanding…” He paused as he looked around the ruins, “A hotel?”

Charlie looked up, taking in the ruins in full, and swallowed hard, “If only I could have gotten heaven on my side. I destroyed this hotel. I could have done better, but I let all of you down.”

Lucifer shook his head, “Come on, Charlie! Give yourself some credit, Princess. You know, in the last ten thousand years, you're the first one to change this town. You changed my mind about all of this. I see the potential, the possibilities. Heaven didn’t listen to my dreams, but fuck it if we don’t make them listen to yours!”

The others came to stand tall next to Charlie and Vaggie took her hand, “We can rebuild! Build the best hotel you’ve ever seen and help you fulfill your destiny!” She turned and looked at Angel and offered a smile, while holding her other hand out to him, she asked, “Will you help?.”
Charlie bit her lip as she watched Angel step up to grasp Vaggie’s hand and give a firm nod, “I’d be honored.” 

Vaggie smiled, and squeezed his hand in hers, showing trust. 

Charlie remembered the last time Angel had said that, and it warmed her heart. Now, all her friends looked to her to lead them, rebuild, and start anew. “I know we can do this,” Gripping Vaggie’s hand, she took Angel’s into her other and declared, “So long as I have all of you with me!”

Chapter 2: You Were Where!?

The Hazbin Hotel was back in business. The group had worked day and night, and with Alastor’s return and power to bring forth demons of construction, it was not as long as they’d feared and the bright neon lights of the Hazbin Hotel sign lit up the night once again.

Charlie stood next to Vaggie looking up fondly with a new key in her hand, declaring it was going to be a fucking happy day in hell, being back in business. She was extra relieved because for the entire time it took to rebuild, she saw Angel and Vaggie getting along, working together, and she even swore she saw Vaggie laugh at something Angel had said.

She was tentative to be near Angel alone until they could tell their story, but in the few occasions it happened, she fondly remembered how Angel had protected her, taught her to embrace her inner demon and stoked power within her she didn’t know she could wield. That Angel was in part a reason she became the powerful demon princess of hell, brought a tug of deep love from her heart for him, and so many memories. Charlie distracted her feelings by asking Angel about when he arrived in heaven, but he shook his head, telling her now was not the time, but he promised he’d tell her, someday.  Charlie trusted him and let the subject drop.

Now, as the first night of the new hotel’s lights shown bright over the five points of Hell, Charlie invited all her friends into the lobby. As they seated themselves with drinks and snacks, anticipating what they knew was going to be the Story to rival all stories, Charlie motioned Angel to come stand by her side and Vaggie pulled up a large lounge chair, sitting on the edge. Lucifer had joined them for this, smiling at his daughter and Angel, supporting them.

“My friends. I told you before, but I want to reaffirm how much I love all of you. You stood by my side and fought for my dreams, even though not all of you believe it’s possible to redeem a soul, you don’t let that stop you from being the best friends any demon could dream of having. Thank you.”

“Here! Here!” Shouted Cherri Bomb, “I may not be a part of this menagerie but fuck if the comradery isn’t endearing!”

“You could be!” Charlie said encouragingly.

“Eh.. maybe” Cherri bomb gave her a friendly wink.

Smiling, Charlie continued, “It’s why I wanted you all to hear the story. The story I need to tell Vaggie. Because I fucked up.” She let her smile fade, “When I saw Angel, I was that frightened girl trapped on Earth so long ago…”

“WHAT!?” Vaggie leaped forward in her chair, eye wide as hell, her wings extending in full spread, and the others gasped in unison behind her.

Charlie nodded, “In that moment, I was the girl who fell in love with a man who not only saved my life, but showed me how to be a true demon, a monster, the thing that goes bump in the night. A demon I needed to be, to save innocent lives.”

“Oh, this is going to be good!” Angel Dust relished, taking a long pull of his drink.

“Charlie?” Vaggie gasped, “You were on Earth? Stuck on Earth? When? How? Why didn’t you tell me any of this??”

Charlie ehhed, “Ex-boyfriend. Ex-Angel? Sometimes, the past isn’t easy to share.”

Vaggie pulled her wings sheepishly around herself, chastised, but she saw Charlie’s soft look, that it wasn’t said in admonishment or anger and she sank back into the chair, still stunned at the revelation but her wings tucked away, and she looked up, “Earth?”

“Wait, I need to say it all correctly,” Charlie shook her head, “I mean it.. I just fell back into the girl I was then.. in love with Angel, and I kissed him, Vaggie.. with the love and loss that was… is? Was.. true. I don’t say that to hurt you, but to explain myself.”

Vaggie motioned with a soft smile, “Go on. I am listening, my love.”

Charlie looked at Angel for encouragement, and Angel took the lead, “Vaggie? All of you? Let me start with a proper introduction. My name is Kevin Angelus Collins. When I was alive on Earth, I dedicated my life to finding lost children and teens. Children taken, kidnapped, trafficked, whatever the reason, I would find them and get them home. I did not always succeed.”

Murmuring voices buzzed the air of the room, and even Lucifer looked uncomfortable with this part. Angel continued, “I was trailing two brothers, whom my source had info on possibly being behind the kidnapping of two little girls.”

“Cassie!” Charlie’s eyes grew at the sudden memory of her dear friend, and she looked to Angel, “Is she?”

“Still alive, last I knew.” He assures her, and continues to the group, “I’d been scouting a farm land, narrowing in on them, when I saw a sudden flash of bright light through some foliage. Investigating, I was shocked to find a young woman laying in the thicket. Charlie.”

“How?” Vaggie looked to both of them in surprise.

Charlie took over, “I’ll get to that, but as you know, being the daughter of Lucifer doesn’t grant you automatic respect. Remember Studio 666? I was used to that kind of mockery growing up. I needed to prove myself. I was determined to show that I was strong, confident, and a leader. So, I explored Hell all over, feeling invulnerable and powerful. I was Lucifer's daughter, after all. I dared to go where even the most dangerous demons would seldom dare to dwell and I wanted to know all of my kingdom, and I wanted my kingdom to know me as someone not to fuck with.”

For the first time, Alastor spoke, “You sought out Harum-Nulla-Unde, didn’t you?”

A collective gasp met his query, and Charlie nodded again, “Yes, and no? I knew of its existence but I had only planned on going into the realm where it was, to show Hell I wasn’t afraid to go anywhere I needed to. I figured it would be enough for some, at least. But, when I went near it, I felt something calling to me. Something that pulled me deeper into the darkness where Harum dwelled, as if whispering promises of wishes fulfilled. When I tried to turn away, power I’d never felt before grabbed me and pulled me into its maw. I didn’t have time to scream and I blacked out.”

No one dared to speak, allowing Angel to resume from where he left off, “When I found Charlie, she was bleeding badly, clothes ripped to near shreds and she had trouble speaking, only mumbling incoherently. I got her back to my van, wrapped her in a blanket, and accessed the damages. Seeing cuts and scrapes all over her, I started to bandage her, asking questions, trying to get her to talk and tell me who she was.”

Charlie spoke up, “My head was clearing while he cleaned my wounds, and his soft questioning voice felt comforting, but I could not remember anything… well, except for my given name.”

“Charlotte.” Vaggie whispered.

“Mmmhmm. But it was the only thing I could remember.” Charlie’s eyes flickered with so many memories, “Now, though? Everything is flooding back.”

Chapter 3: Let Me Be Your Demon

“Charlotte?” She whispered uncertainly under her breath.

Angel blinked at the young woman, wrapped in the blanket, fresh dressings on her various wounds, “Did you say something?”

“Charlotte.” she affirmed in a stronger voice, “That's my name, I think?” Charlotte groaned, rubbing the bruise on her head, the confusion frustrating her. She looked at her unfamiliar surroundings, “Where am I?”

Angel fished a water bottle out of a cooler next to him, unscrewed the cap and handed the bottle to her, “Here, drink this first, your voice is hoarse, likely dry. Hydrate.”

In fact, it was her demon’s inner voice seeping through, but she didn’t realize it. Taking the bottle, Charlotte took a deep swallow and started coughing hard, spitting the water back up, and dropping the bottle, spilling water on the floor, “Whoah, easy… are you okay?”

Charlotte coughed more and finally settled down, embarrassed. “Sorry sorry sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just sip the water slower.” Angel fetched the near empty bottle, and tossed it aside, grabbing another clear bottle and gave it to Charlotte who did so, and a few more coughs later, she felt better.

“Do you know how you got here, Charlotte? Were you kidnapped?” He asked while rummaging through some trash bags, pulling out a black shirt and jeans.

“Kidnapped?” Charlotte asked, shocked, “NO! no.. I .. don’t think so.. no. I.. I can’t remember.”

“It’s okay. Don’t push yourself. I’m sure it’ll all come back to you.” Angel pulled himself into the driver's side chair, currently turned to the back of the van, and handed her the clothes, “Here, I think these will fit you. Your clothes are a mess.”

Charlotte realized her state of dress and blushed. Nothing intimate was showing, thankfully, but not without a bit of luck. She turned away in the blanket and Angel turned to face the front, giving her privacy. Pulling the tattered remains of her white dress shirt away, she noticed light cuts all over her torso and breasts. What had she been through?

“What’s your name?” she asked as he slipped the black shirt over her, its smooth cotton feeling good against her skin.

“Angel.'' He answered, while adjusting the time on his watch, waiting for Charlotte to finish.

Angels, she thought the word sounded very familiar. Charlotte  pushed off what was left of her slacks.. grateful her panties seemed to be fully intact, and slipped on the jeans, which hugged her hips comfortably, “They fit well.”

“I keep a lot of different items in here for the kids and teens I find. I’ve gotten good at guessing sizes.”

“Where am I?” Charlotte asked again, bringing the topic back to what was important to her.

“Gratton. I found you nearby in the woods.”

“Gratton?” The name did not sound familiar to her but little if anything here did.

“It’s in Virginia. Do you remember where you’re from?”

Zipping the jeans and buttoning the clasp, she turned back to face Angel, “No. Why can’t I remember anything but my name?”

Turning back to face her, Angel explains, “Amnesia is common with a head wound like yours, the trauma can block memory. Muscle memory generally remains, like being able to talk, walk, etcetera.  I’m at a loss as to why you remember your name, and nothing else, though.”

Charlotte rubs her forehead, the bruise stinging, as Angel continues, “You’ve obviously been attacked, I just can’t understand why you were left behind.”

“Behind?” her head throbbed, nothing made sense.

“Listen, Charlotte, I search for lost and taken children, to rescue them if need be from bad men. I was tracking a pair of brothers who’d taken two girls when I found you. I assumed you were taken, too, yet abandoned for some reason.”

“I honestly don’t think so… I don’t know why I can’t remember, but I don’t feel like I was taken.” Sudden realization hit Charlotte hard in her stomach causing a rumbling of energy and power she couldn’t understand wash over her, “They take children?”

A deep animalisitc growl rumbled up her throat, and her eyes began to glow a bright red, changing from pupils to slits. horns sprouting out of her forehead through her blonde hair and her fingernails grew into vicious looking claws.  Angel gasped in fearful shock and bolted for the driver’s side door but a clawed hand grabbed him by the shoulder, and a demon’s voice echoed in his ear, “WHO….ARE…. THEY!?”

Despite his training. Despite going into the most dangerous of hells to save the innocent, natural human fear won this moment and Angel couldn’t move or react, the shock freezing him, only able to whisper, ”Ch...c..Charlotte?”

The red eyes widened… and the shape of the demon before him receded back into Charlotte’s familiar form.  Charlotte looked shocked, frightened and oddly embarrassed as she fell back to the floor. Her voice felt tiny and hollow, “A..Angel? What.. What just happened to me?”

“What the fuck are you?” Angel managed to say between gasping breaths.

Charlotte shivered, pulling the warming blanket over her shoulders and she let out a sob, “I don’t know! I don’t fucking know! I’m scared!” Noticing Angels’ hand on the door handle, ready to run, she sniffed, “Please… please don’t leave me!”

Oh, how he wanted to leave, bolt from the door and run for the hills, but he pulled his courage back to him, because her pain sounded real and genuine. Angel eased the grip off both the handle and scolded himself internally for his idiocy, but he slid from the chair to kneel in front of her.

“I.. uh.. don’t think you’re from around here.” Allowing a broken chuckle in, he continued, “You looked...you looked like a demon.”

“Demon.” Charlotte tasted the word, and it clicked about Angel. Angels and Demons. Heaven and Hell. She understood the concept, but nothing else. “If.. If I’m a demon…why do I feel such rage about innocent children being hurt? If I’m a monster, why do I care so much?”

“Monster’s don’t care, Charlotte.” Angel held a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes and blew a long breath of air out to de-stress, “ I’m going on a very long thin limb here, but I don’t think you’re a monster. Mostly since you haven’t eaten me… yet.”

Charlotte gulped hard, swallowing deeply and coughed again. Grabbing the bottle of water, she remembered Angel’s warning and sipped slowly to still the itch at the back of her throat.

“Thank you.” Pausing to look at the bottle , “What is this?”

Attributing it to the odd memory loss, “Water. You don’t know water?”

“I.. I don’t think I drink water. Much.”

“If you’re what I think you are, there’s likely not much of that where you’re from.”

Charlotte looked at Angel questioningly, “What do you mean?”

“It's just as I said, Charlotte. Red eyes, horns, claws. Many artistic depictions attribute those features to demons. I grew up in a Catholic family, but lost my faith a long time ago. Haven’t prayed since.. “ Quick sigh, “And I have never been able to really accept the existence of the supernatural, despite my sister’s insistence, but most stories suggest demons follow the devil, Lucifer.”

“Lucifer, “Charlotte spoke the name long and slow, quietly as her mind rolled in painful confusion and under her breath, a word escaped almost unnoticed, “Dad?”

He wasn’t sure if he’d heard her correctly, but decided to put it aside, “And they’re the denizens of evil, ripping flesh from bone, eating souls, i.e.; monsters.”

“That’s not me!” Charlotte exclaimed, with a certainty she couldn’t place, “I can’t bear to think of those children suffering! Let me help!”

Angel leaned back, surprised, “Help?”

“If I’m able to do what I just did, again? If I can harness this.. power.. that I feel welling in me… I can...I can scare the fuck out of those men and help you save the children!”

“What if, releasing your power, you discover you fit the stories, and instead, kill everyone, including me?” Angel challenged.

Charlotte fell silent, eyes dropping, shoulders slumping, “That isn’t me. It can’t be. FUCK!!!”

Charlotte’s sudden outburst caused a ripple of power to swell inside the van and the skin on Angel’s arms shivered and he fell back, again. Charlotte’s head whipped up, ashamed, “SORRY! But I felt it again.. it’s there, just below the surface, but I don’t know what to do.”

Regaining his composure, and taking a chance, Angel spoke low “I am going to trust you, Charlotte, even though it may be stupid of me. But, you didn’t hurt me when you lost control earlier, and in fact, your rage did come from hearing what I said. I am going to put faith in you, but I gotta ask… you’re wounded… Do you feel you can do this?”

Silence swallowed the interior of the van, as Charlotte bit her lip, and looked away. Her mind was in shambles, but her heart was not. Her every fiber told her she would never harm the innocent. She didn’t know what the stories were that Angel talked about, but she couldn’t believe them to be real. If she was really from… hell?

“Fuck” Charlotte thought to herself, “Am I really the devil?”

Looking up to Angel she swallowed her fear and firmly answered him, “Yes. I mean, I hope so. But.. I need to become what I was a few minutes ago… I need it to come out, completely, and I don’t know what to do.. and I don’t want you running away when I do.”

“Just..promise not to rip my guts out?” Angel quipped in forced humor.

“I sincerely promise you, Angel. You saved my life! I will never hurt you. But those monsters out there need to pay for what they’ve done. I want to know what to do, how to save the children.”

Sighing deeply, Angel scratched his forehead, “First thing I need to do is go scout out the place I was looking for when I found you. I’ve already lost a lot of time tending to you but it seems that the alternative was leaving a demon in a hospital so…. Not going to curse myself anymore on that.”

“Don’t. And I understand I’ve delayed you. I feel strong enough to move.. the power I let loose earlier seems to have done something .. I don’t feel weak.”

Angel took a hold of Charlotte’s hand, and lifted the bandage on her arm, and shock hit him.. her wounds were gone. He eased away the wrapping on her shoulder, to which she moved her head trustingly and that wound was gone, as well.

“You’re… healed.” Angel whispered in awe.

Charlotte cracked her neck, a somewhat creepy smile shadowed over her lips for a moment, “I feel.. good. Very good, in fact. I feel energy in me now.” And she looked at Angel with a more mischievous grin, rather than menacing, “Help me bring it out!”

Opening the side door, Angel stepped out, turned and held out a hand that Charlotte took and he helped her step onto the cold, wet grass. Charlotte felt the blades tickle her bare feet and it felt good. The wind was light and the moon bright, and Charlotte’s hair seemed to have an eerie glow as she filled out in a way that Angel had never seen any woman do before. She commanded power, strength. The change was palpable, and he realized she was embracing what she could be.. driven by a divine need to protect.

“So NOT what I’ve ever known about demons.” Angel thought to himself. Maybe the stories were wrong, after all.

“Charlotte.”

She turned to him, her hair flowing, her eyes sparkling, and standing as if she had never been hurt at all. “Yes?”

“We do not have much time, but I am going to try to help you bring out what I saw, with you in control of it. If it’s even possible, that is.” Taking a deep breath that he lets out slowly, he starts, “I'm sorry if this hurts, but I want you to concentrate on what happened in the van.  Remember what I said about those fuckers kidnapping children.  Imagine those scared little kids, fearing for their lives. Know that these men are sick perverted scum. They take kids, not always for ransom, sometimes for a lot worse.”

Charlotte was feeling an energy pulse to her heart beat. She tried to pull the power forward, but it was hard, and whispered, eyes closed “Worse. How?”

What she hears him say, causes her rage to burst in a supernova from deep within her soul and her eyes flew open, red as blood. The transformation was instantaneous, power raced through Charlotte’s veins, exploding outwards and altering her physical form. Who was once before him, the sweet looking, blonde hair black eyed young woman, now stood a demon, pointed tail, horns some 12 inches long, protruding out of the top of her head, whispers of ember fire sparking from their sharp tips.. Her pupils had thinned to  slits, and razor sharp teeth peeked past her black lips. She had grown slightly taller, filling out in her hips and chest but the magics altered her clothing to fit. Something unexplainable to Angel.

Energy crackled around her and Angel felt true fear and regret that he may have misjudged everything. No movie or story could compare to what was now before him, and his hand slipped to his gun, unbuckling the clip holster. Charlotte took notice of this, swooping in and slapping his hand away, she ripped the gun from the holster. She took a step back, hissing darkly, and Angel looked at his hand to find it was still there, unharmed.

Angel stayed frozen in place, until the demon he once knew as Charlotte, gently placed the gun back into his hand and Charlotte’s normal voice came from the fanged mouth, “It’s me, Angel. It’s Charlotte. I have control. I promised I would not hurt you. I trust you won’t hurt me.”

He looked up into Charlotte’s eyes, still red and glowing, but wide in fear of being rejected. Angel slipped the gun into its holster and with his breath held tight, reached the same hand out to cup Charlotte’s cheek in a sign of trust, which felt hot to the touch. “I won't,” Angel affirmed.

The moment became still, the young man with his hand on the cheek of a demon straight out of the scariest stories man could ever dream up, and something sparked inside Charlotte. She still could not remember her past, but she could feel confident she had never met a man so honorable, sincere, and fighting human fear to trust her where she believed all others would flee or fight. She knew in that instant she was going to learn to control this power, and she was going to be his partner, and they would save every child they could. Wherever she came from would have to wait. She felt determined and focused in the moment.

Charlotte lifted her clawed hand to cover Angels, with the gentlest of touches, “Well… “ she drawled out and paused, teeth flashing with a small smile, “How do I look?”

The question was so unexpected, Angel burst out laughing, and Charlotte followed with her own and it was quite the sight to behold if you came across it in that moment, but the two felt fear, hesitation, uncertainty drain from their collective bodies and Angel coughed, “You… honestly, when not fearing for my life and getting to really look at you, you’re.. amazing .. scary as fuck, yes, but amazing. How do you feel?”

Charlotte closed her eyes, taking in her feelings, both physical and emotional, and smiled, “Amazing. Powerful.”

"How did the clothes not rip from you?”

Charlotte’s cheeks blushed, knowing but not knowing how she knew, “My magic. It’s.. just a part of my magic. Like, I think I know some things I can do in this body.”

Angel walked around Charlotte, appraising her. “What abilities are you thinking?”

Charlotte turned and grinned wickedly, lifting her hands and power sparked on her fingers, “I think I can fire .. fire or energy.. from my fingers.”

And to prove it, she pointed up and shot a flare of fire into the air, erupting in a burst and dispersing. “Pew pew!” Charlotte playfully whispered, feeling her inner child surface and she giggled.

“Demon fire. Makes sense.”

“And I think I can disappear?”  Closing her eyes hard, concentrating, the demon before him faded away.

“Charlotte?” Angel asked after a couple moments of her not returning.

He then felt hot arms surrounding him from behind in a gentle but firm embrace, “You didn’t see me or hear me walk behind you, did you?” Charlotte’s warm breath whispered in his ear.

“I did not”, and he put his hands on her invisible arms and gave a reaffirming squeeze, a bit surprised by the intimacy of her touch, which worked to dispel the rest of his fear of her. “Invisibility, confirmed”

Reappearing as she stepped back, Charlotte blushed at his touch, and she turned hoping he didn’t notice, and Angel noticed a lack of wings.

“No wings? I figured that would be common for demons.”

“Wings? Oh, I’d love to have wings!” Charlotte turned back around, looking wistful at the thought, “Sadly though, I guess not.”

Fresh in his thoughts of Charlotte taking his gun, he challenged her, “How fast are you?”

Charlotte started to sprint in a silent answer, and around the van she moved with quicker pace each lap.. quickly besting the fastest human runner, easy enough, and stopped on a dime next to Angel after completing a full dozen laps in seconds. “How’s that?”

“More than enough. How’s your eyesight in the dark?”

“I see perfectly.” Charlotte boasted, firm and proud.

The silence from Angel caught her attention and Charlotte looked at him, curiously, “What?”

“You were wounded when I found you.”

Charlotte nodded, not quite understanding, but she saw Angel’s hand brush the holster and it clicked, “We don’t know if I can be killed.”

Angel didn’t reply right away.

“Shoot me.”

His head whipping her way, he choked “What?”

“Don’t. No lies please. You thought about it. And it’s the right thing to be thinking.”

“I..” Angel sighed softly, “I can’t help it, I'm a strategist, it's how I'm so good at my job. I think of every angle to every mission. My army buddies used to tease me that I was playing 4-D chess, seeing every possible outcome to a mission. We were an extremely successful unit , until..”

He stops, and quickly switches, “The fact is, you were bleeding, cut, hurt, memory loss. You healed, yes, but...”

“But we don’t know if I was in my demon form when I was hurt.” Silence as the two simultaneously reached the same internal conclusion, and Charlotte said in a firmer voice, “Shoot me!”

Knowing it was fruitless to argue, Angel took a single breath to still himself, as he was trained to do, Angel unclipped the holster cover, pulled the gun, cocked it and without another thought to challenge his resolve, fired a single round into the demon before him, aiming for her shoulder. The bullet pierced through like butter and exited the other side, spewing hot golden colored blood.. not the red blood Charlotte had in her human form and she shrieked loud and demonically in pain, grabbing at the wound and her face flushed with tears! Angel holstered the gun and raced to her, but Charlotte held up a clawed hand, fire sparking from the tips and her full demon voice warned, thick and menacingly “DON’T!”

Stopping in his tracks, shaking, Angel obeyed and Charlotte stood up straight, pulling her hand away from the wound. She stood there, fully erect and growled deep, scaring Angel that this was in fact, the biggest mistake and the end of his life. But Charlotte’s skin started to heat up, steam welling from the wound and in moments, it closed completely… and her body drained and she stumbled. Despite her warning, Angel instinctively ran forward and caught her mid fall, and she let him.

“Charlotte?”

Her eyes opened, and they were her soft black human eyes, though her demon form remained, “I'm so sorry for scaring you… the pain was more than I expected and for a moment I didn’t know if I could control myself from lashing out.”

“Your eyes?” Curious, Angel brushed a wisp of hair away from her face.

“I think the healing process takes a bit of my power for a moment… but it’s okay.. I think my normal eyes are prettier, anyway, don’t you?”

Angel nodded softly,  and they stared quietly at each other for seconds that felt like minutes, before Angel cleared his throat, “It appears that despite your power, you’re mortal. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to do this.”

“I’m not debating this, Angel. I will go either way. I think you know you can’t stop me.”

Charlotte didn’t want to sound so dark, but she was not going to be left behind, she was not going to let those children suffer if she could do anything about it. Angel took a deep breath, accepting her stance, “In that case, we’re going to need a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” She asked as Angel helped her to her feet.

“I was thinking about that. We’re going to take full advantage of the lore about demons.” Charlotte’s face looked quizzical, which was rather cute to Angel as he walked over to the van and grabbed a duffle bag from inside the open door and checking its contents, confirmed it had what he needed. He also grabbed a pair of black crocs and handed them off to Charlotte, who shifted back to her human form and slipped them on.

Angel started off towards the woods where he found Charlotte, who followed beside him,  “Let me tell you some stories.”

 

Chapter 4: The Rescue

Charlotte listened to Angel, as he shared tidbits of what he knew about demons from Earth’s stories as told through film, books, online and regions. He went on picking various elements across all of the different mediums, expressing how she may best take advantage of each aspect, and intending to create in her, the most frightening visceral image anyone would ever see. Charlotte found much of what he said familiar, natural to her, and her mind burned with questions about who she was, how she got here and what all she could really do. She also struggled to marry the ideas of demons being evil beings, killing humans with her own deep sense of morality. If she was a demon, why did the idea of harming anyone nauseate her so? Perhaps humans just had no fucking idea about demons and thought only the worst of them? She was determined to do what she had to do to save the children, even if it meant becoming the stereotype that Angel was describing, and told herself that those monsters did not deserve her sympathy. She still did not fully know if in the moment, she could kill. It scared her, but that fear only reaffirmed to herself that she wasn’t evil, and it helped her to compartmentalize.

“Charlotte?” Angel had noticed her looking distant. She blinked back at him.

“Sorry. I’m just so confused.” and she proceeded to share her thoughts with him.

“I understand, but we have an opportunity to use it. Even the evilest of men know the basic concept of good, evil, demons and hell. Fear is a tool we need to exploit. But, Charlotte, there are children in there… you have to be very careful they do not see you.”

“I know.”

“Also,” He paused and she looked to him, quizzically, “Even though I despise these fuckers, I do whatever I can to take them alive. They need to face justice in court, not vigilante justice and no killing.”

“I don’t think I could, anyway.. it just doesn’t feel right.” Charlotte lets out a dry laugh, “Some demon, huh?”

Angel, hand on her shoulder, assured her “I don’t like to kill, either, Charlotte. I avoid it at all costs. Even since…”

A flash of memory stops him, shaking his head, he instead knelt down, opened the duffle bag and pulled a pair of night vision goggles out and secured him to his head. “I don’t have your vision, but these will do just fine. My map says the home is just over this ridge.” Pulling out the map he mentioned, he pointed to their current location and the home, and then he fished out a second paper, which was a diagram of the home itself. He proceeded to explain the exits and various rooms, advising her on where he best thinks the kids will be kept. Once he’d explained the plan, he looked to her to confirm, “Following me?”

Charlotte’s visage had been slowly changing into her demon form as he explained and when he looked her way, sharp teeth grinned back at him, “Yes,” She hissed.

Angel started, then chastised himself, scolding ‘She’s on your side, get used to this’ and speaking up, “Warn me next time?”

Charlotte just grinned, warming to her new self, “Fear is a weapon, right? I need to know  that it's sharp.” But she added softly, “Sorry.”

He understood and smiled back, fully, “No, you’re right. Don’t lose your edge. You look perfect.”

Charlotte hissed gleefully, serpent tongue poking through, and asked, “Do you have a particular suggestion of which story I should embody?”

“Oh, I absolutely do.”

Minutes later, the two came into view of the home. The sky had become overcast, engulfing the moon and casting the valley the home was in into deeper darkness, which was good. Adjusting his goggles, seeing one older burly man sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, with a rifle on his lap. Before she could stop it, Charlotte let out a low, demonic growl. She stopped herself, but Angel’s hand on her shoulder told her it was okay, and she growled again, openly. Her tail twisting in feline-like fashion, anticipating the hunt. Her muscles tensed, crackling power, and she found herself comfortable with letting herself be the monster human’s feared. And oh how they would fear her.

Angel looked at her, and how frightening she looked to him, and he wasn’t even her target. Those fuckers were going to pay dearly.

“Charlotte?”

She looked at him. He nodded, “It’s time.”

Charlotte gave one lil nod and in silence,  disappeared.

.
.
Down at the home, Colton Pry rocked content in the wooden rocking chair, relaxing to the cool night air, letting himself relax now that he felt he and his little brother were safely hidden.  He relished in their plan to ransom the two little girls, though he had a small hope the parents would fail, so he could keep them and have some fun with them.  He smiled a broken tooth smile, stroking the barrel of his shotgun erotically.

Inside in the kitchen, lit only by a few candles,  his younger brother Ben, was in the process of frying up some hamburger meat, the sizzle from the frying pan loud.  Seasoning it, his stomach rumbled in anticipation.  As he flipped one of the burgers, he suddenly turned his head, as something caught the corner of his eye, but nothing was there. The candles casting flickering shadows on the walls, it gave the room an eerie feel that the younger brother didn’t much care for.  He already wasn’t happy with his older brother’s decision to kidnap the kids.  He wanted money for his drugs, sure, but he didn’t want to harm the kids, and he knew damned well his older brother had perverted intentions.  Otherwise, he questioned himself for agreeing to this. The sizzle of the meat caught his attention and he turned back to cooking.
CRASH!

Jumping from the sudden sound, he pulled the frying pan off the stove in a knee jerk reaction causing the meat to spill all over the floor.

“SHIT!” The hot grease smacking his skin.  He turned to the sound of the crash, as a mason jar had fallen off the paint chipped curio cabinet in the corner, “What in the blue hell?”

He goes over and kneels, picking up a shard of glass, looking at it closely.  A flutter out of the corner of his eye and he turns to look down the hallway towards the bedrooms, watching as the door to the bathroom creaks open slowly.

“Did one of the kids get loose?” Ben wonders as he slowly makes his way down the hallway.  Reaching the door, cracked open about a foot, he grasps the handle and pulls the door open roughly, “Don’t move, kid!”

Only a crusty porcelain toilet greeted him.  Looking around the small half bath, he squinted his eyes to see if one of the kids was scrunched in a corner, but there was nothing. A sudden chill scurried up his back as he felt a warm breath flutter across his neck and ear and a low guttural growl followed. Turning abruptly, Ben is greeted by two red orbs of light floating in the air, their glow illuminating the shadow a face with glistening white fangs. Screaming, Ben falls back, jamming his upper back against the rim of the toilet painfully.

The bathroom door slams shut, striking his left knee, and he yelps in sharp pain.  He grips his knee, hot tears burning his eyes, groaning softly. The sudden silence is deafening. Holding his breath, he listens and is greeted by an almost unperceptible scratching at the bathroom door.  Slow, repeated scratches travel up the door from the floor towards the door knob.  Biting his lip, Ben shakes as the scratches get quicker, almost in tune to his own increasing heart beat, until the sound stops.

Shaking, Ben starts to pull himself up when the doorknob is twisted violently, left to right to left to right.  Ben frantically looks around for any kind of weapon but the long since abandoned farmhouse afforded him nothing.  Turning, he spied the lone window and ran to it.  He pulled at the sill, trying to lift it but it had long been painted shut.  He scrambled to pull and pry it loose, when the doorknob stopped rattling.  Turning and pressing himself against the wall, Ben tried to slow his rapid trembling breath, and after a full minute of silence, he took tentative steps towards the door. Ben reached for the door and had to use both hands to steady himself, and slowly wrapped his thin fingers around the knob.  Taking a deep breath, he slowly twists the knob…

Ben screams as the door is ripped open and is greeted by terror itself, a demon of unimaginable horror swallows up the hallway, crimson eyes pulsing and white hot fangs aling a snarling mouth, opening wide and a voice floats to his ears, “Get… out!”
“COLTON!  COLTON!!”

Ben screams his brother’s name as he bolts from the bathroom past the demon as it elicits a screeching wail, and races down the hallway towards the kitchen and back door!

“COLTON!!!”

The front door bursts open as Colton rushes in, gun at the ready, “What the fuck is it, Ben?”

Been thrusts a pointed finger down the hallway, “Something’s there!”

Ben then turns and nearly crashes through the screen door that was starting to swing shut as Colton turns his full attention towards the hallway and whatever it was frightened Ben.
.
.

Moments before, Angel has slipped through the bushes on the far side of the farmhouse, silent and out of sight of Colton, relaxed on the back porch.  Using the shadows as cover, he slips up and presses his back against the side of the home and kneels down.  Setting the duffle bag quietly on the grass, he fishes out a dart gun, specially designed and made for him to fire multiple rounds before having to re-load.  Pulling the clip, he inspects the darts and slaps it quietly back in, flicking the safety off.   Taking a single slow deep breath, and letting it out in time to his heartbeat, he moves in silence towards the back porch.

Angel steals himself, waiting.  His patience is rewarded as a few minutes later, loud terrified screams fill the back of the home. A voice inside screams for the man on the back porch and he scrambles to his feet, ripping open the screen door and barreling inside. He hears the man curse at his brother, who seconds later bursts from the back, nearly ripping the screen door off its hinges as he tumbles down the backstairs into the gravel path. Taking aim as the man struggles to get his footing under him from the loose gravel, Angel fires one dart, connecting perfectly into Ben’s neck.  Ben  grabs at the sudden sharp nick, his eyes rolling back in his head as he drops into a heap on the ground, the potent tranquilizer taking effect quickly.

Angel preps his gun, waiting to see if Colton comes out to chase after his younger brother, his muscles tensing for the possible confrontation.  When he hears Colton move deeper into the house, Angel moves in on Ben’s prone body and opens a pocket on his ranger vest, pulling out two heavy duty double nylon zip ties and firmly secures Ben’s wrists behind his back. He then rips Ben’s shoes off and does the same around his ankles.  Lastly, he takes out a smart tag and slips into Ben’s back pocket, as a back up to find him should he somehow scurry off.
Satisfied Ben is secure, Angel turns and heads up the stairs, taking each step carefully to avoid any sound, and lines himself up against the door frame out of sight of the entrance. He perks his ears, listening intently to what’s going on inside.
.
.

 

“God Damn It!” Colton curses as his brother darts out the back door in total fear, oblivious to Ben’s coming fate. He stares down in the direction Ben had pointed and sees nothing.  Cursing again, under his breath, he stalks down the hallway to see what it was that frightened Ben.  He reaches the end of the hallway , and shakes his head in disgust. His brother has always been a coward, and convincing him to help on this plan was turning out to be a big mistake.  Now, he’s bolted because he was spooked by the wind? What a pussy!

At that thought, a creepy smile draws across Colton’s lips, and since he’s at the door to the bedroom where the girls are being held, why not have a little fun, especially now that his brother won’t be there to stop him.. Fishing out a key from his hip pocket, he feeds it into the keyhole, twisting to undo the bolt and pushes it open, stepping into the bedroom.

On the twin bed at the edge of the room, Two young girls, eleven and seven, whimper in fear seeing Colton. When the brothers took them, Colton was cruel in voice and how he physically manhandled them, while Ben would be the soothing voice of reason holding Colton back from his sick desires. Now, they saw Coltron was here, alone and the girls knew something bad was about to happen.  The younger girl whimpered as her sister tried to put herself in front as a shield.

“I don’t know what scared my brother, but I’m not leaving without my pretty little dolls.” Colton pulls a hunting knife from its sheath on his belt, twisting it as he steps forward and slices the zip ties holding the younger girl to the bed frame. In a moment of lust, he starts to explore her and she screams, kicking at him. Colton curses and backhands her, hard, knocking her back against the frame.

.
.

 

Charlotte watched in deep satisfaction Ben’s reactions to her portrayal of The Tooth fairy from the tale ‘Darkness Falls’ that Angel had shared with her, embracing the fear she could elicit from the cowardly bastard. She let him have just enough room to break from the bathroom and she admitted to herself how fun it was to watch him race past his brother and clumsily crash through the door.  She knew Angel would be ready, and now it was time to turn her attention to the other creep. Thinking about what else Angel had told her, she decided to let him come closer. She would let him wander for a few, before she started her second act.

Staying fully invisible, Charlotte faded back into the bathroom, as Colton stepped awfully close to her, and turned his back to her to unlock the door across from the bathroom.  She listened as he went in, and heard him curse his brother for running, and it dawned on her that that was the room the children must be in. Frightened for the children, and moving  swiftly yet silently, Charlotte glided into the room just as Colton struck the younger girl.

In that moment, reasoning and clarity left Charlotte and she burst into view behind Colton, her full demon form swallowing the doorway. She let out a deathly howl, focused only on Colton, deaf to the screams of the little girls. Colton jumps to his feet, drawing his knife up in front of him in defense, crying out “WHAT THE FUCK!?”

.
.

Angel, having slipped into the home, carefully moving down the hall, hears the screams and rushes into the bedroom. He accesses the situation in a heartbeat; Charlotte in full demon form, energy crackling around her, moving in on Colton shakily holding his knife up in defense.  Dropping to one knee to aim under Charlotte’s right flank, Angel smoothly presses the trigger, sending a dart flying into Colton’s throat.

“Charlotte.” He hisses under his breath as Colton’s bulk thuds hard to the floor, face down, “GO!”

Charlotte comes to her senses, and sees the little girl staring at her, scared to death and crying profusely. The look burns itself into Charlotte’s mind, and feeling just as frightened and cursing herself for mistake, fades from sight, swearing to herself, “SHIT! SHIT!” as she runs for the backdoor and out into the cold night.

Angel rips another set of zip ties from his vest, swearing silently and questioning the wisdom of letting Charlotte do this, while securing Colton’s wrists and ankles in quick succession.  Satisfied he’s going nowhere, he pulls his night vision goggles off and looks towards the frightened girls, “What’s your name, sweetie?”

She looks at him blankly, tears flooding her eyes, and Angel smiles softly, repeating “What’s your name?”

The girl stutters, “A..amy.”

Standing up, Angel gives Colton’s prone form a dirty look, and walks to the bed. Amy cringes back, grabbing her little sister to protect her. Angel holds up his hands, “It’s okay, Amy. You’re safe, now.”

“The monster!” She cries, looking over his shoulder to the doorway.

“That wasn’t a monster, that was my partner.” Angel explains, and Amy shakes her head, hard. Her little sister rubbing her eyes, confused having not seen Charlotte.

“She was in a costume. Quite the performance, wouldn’t you say?” Angel hoped he could get Amy to believe his story, she wasn’t calming down enough, otherwise. He sits down on the bed and motions, “Let me see your sister.”

Tentatively, Amy helps her little sister up and Angel examines the back of her head, “You got a nasty bump there.”

“It hurts.” The younger sister pouts.

“I know, sweetie, it’ll get better, I promise. What’s your name?”

“Jamie.”

Angel smiles at both of them, “Amy and Jamie, huh? Okay, let’s get you both out of here.”

Angel helps the girls up but they lock up with Colton groans. Angel gives Colton a kick in the gut and he doesn’t move, “He’s out, girls, it’s okay. Come on.”

Angel leads the girls outside, the crisp air biting at their bare skins. Angel retrieves his duffle from the bushes where he stashed it, and pulls two XL tye-dye T-shirts, instructing the girls to put them on. He starts to lead them up the incline, towards the van.
“Where’s your partner?” Amy sniffed, her voice tinged with suspicion and fear.

Angel didn’t know. He was starting to think of a lot of different scenarios. Did she run away? Did she lose control and become that which he feared, and would attack? Did she get pulled back to where she came from? He listed those thoughts among others as he led the kids through the woods.

“She went on ahead,” He lied, and kept the girls moving.

Twenty minutes later, Angel pulled open the side door of the van and helped the girls inside. He throws his duffle over the passenger seat, it’s weight thudding on the cushion. Unzipping his gear, he sheds the excess off of him and tosses all of it behind the driver's side chair. Grabbing the door for support, he pulls himself in and slides the door close. Opening the cooler, he pulls out two more water bottles and hands them to the girls, “Here. This will help.”

The girls are quiet, but calmer, as they sip at their waters. Angel takes the moment to radio the authorities, informing them of the brother’s location. After he relays the information, he replaces the radio receiver., his mind racing about Charlotte, when a soft tap-tap-tap announces someone outside. The girls tense, and Jamie lets out a soft cry. Angel holds up a finger to shush them and speaks to the door.

“Who is it?”

Charlotte’s soft, frightened voice responds, “It’s me, Angel.”

Relief washes over Angel, and he smiles to the kids, “It’s my partner. I’ll be right back.”

Angel slides the door open and sees Charlotte looking distraught, sad, embarrassed and he steps out, closing the door behind him, “Are you alright?”

She bites her lip, eyes wet, “No! I lost it. I saw him hit her and I lost it, Angel. I let them see me. I scared them!”

“You did, “Angel agrees, making Charlotte sniff harder, “But you also saved them, Charlotte. You stopped him from doing something worse. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I promised I wouldn’t be seen, and I failed you!”

“Charlotte, “Angel sighs, “Again, I agree. Yes, you did fail to adhere to the mission I set. But I knew that this could happen. You’re not trained for this. Hell, I’m not trained for this, teaming up with a demon. But you went in, green, and you really did do a good job. In fact, this was one of the easiest rescues I’ve made so far, and you were a big reason for that. The kids are safe, and the authorities are on their way. We’ll get them to the hospital and then you and I are going to figure all this out. Okay?”

Wiping her tears away, she sniffs and gives Angel a hopeful look, “I heard you tell the kids I’m your partner. Are you serious? I can stay?”

“Yes. We will find out who you truly are, Charlotte, I promise you that, and if you are going to insist on helping me, I won’t turn away the advantage you give us. Besides, there’s nowhere else for you to go, and we still have a lot of things to figure out with your demon side.”

Charlotte shivers violently, holding herself as his words give her a small sense of relief. Not only was she angry at her failure, but feared deeply that Angel would abandon her.

Turning to the van’s side door, he grips the handle, looking over his shoulder, “Now, you introduce yourself to the girls so they see you're ‘human’, and I’ll get us out of here.”

Angel opens the door wide and looks inside. “Girls, I’d like for you to meet my heroic partner.”

Charlotte peeks in besides Angel, who moves to go around the van to get into the driver's side, and gives the girls the most innocent look she can muster, wiping a tear from her own eye, “Hey. I’m Charlotte.”

Amy still has a slight suspicious look, “Where’s your costume? You were scary!”

Charlotte blushes, “I’m so sorry I scared you! I got angry when I saw the bad man hurt your sister. I didn’t mean for you to see me dressed up. My costume…” She can’t think of an answer, looking toward the back of Angel’s head.

“She gave it to me outside, Amy. I have it packed away” Angel says from the driver's seat as he starts the engine, “Now get comfortable, we have a bit of a drive ahead.”

Charlotte motions the girls into her arms. Jamie crawls over quick enough but Amy is tentative. Charlotte smiles softly, with a wink “It’s OK, I promise. If you trust me, I’ll tell you some stories that Angel told me to make me seem scary, let you in on my lil tricks.”

Amy pauses, thinking, but finally lets Charlotte take her into her arms. Charlotte holds the precious girls close in a tight, protective hug and starts whispering softly. Angel listens in as Charlotte starts to tell the girls the same stories he told her, changing things to make it seem like a play, and he smiles softly. She’s picked up on a lot in a short time. Hopefully, Angel thinks, her memories will come back just as quick. He turns the van off the back road to the main road, driving a steady speed towards the nearest town as a half dozen police cars race past him towards the farm house.

Chapter 5: Introducing Amanda Sims

At the Hospital

 

Angel pressed his knuckles against his lips to try to stifle a sudden yawn, as they pulled up to the WVU Princeton Community Hospital about forty-five minutes later. Charlotte had gotten the girls to laugh at her stories, and he heard some levity in her voice, which he knew she needed. Pulling into the first parking spot across from the emergency room, he shifted into park. He heard shuffling behind him as Charlotte moved on her knees between the front captain chair seats, peering out at the sharp lights of the hospital.

“They’ll be safe here?”

Angel noted the concern in her voice, “Yes, the people inside know medicines and treatments, and this will be the best place for their parents to come for them.”

He noticed two police cars pulling in and turned towards the back, “Girls, we’re at the hospital, and I radioed ahead so your parents should be here soon, but I do have to ask you a very special favor.”

The girls looked at him and Amy nodded, “What is it?”

“Don’t tell anyone about Charlotte or her scary costume, okay? She’s my secret weapon against the mean men I chase, and if they ever found out, she could be in danger. Deal?”

Having come to trust Charlotte on the drive, Amy promised and she’d tell Jamie to keep Charlotte a secret as well. He knew it was not a guarantee, kids being kids, but since Charlotte had been seen, it was all he could ask of them. He then looked at Charlotte, “That means you gotta stay in the van and out of sight, at least until we figure out a cover story for you.”

Backing out of sight silently, Angel accepted that as agreement and opened the drivers side door and slipped out. Seconds later, the side door slid open and he motioned the kids to exit the van. He gave Charlotte a nod and whispered, “Go invisible if anyone comes by.”

He didn’t wait for a response, and shut the door and guided the kids across the lot to the emergency entrance, disappearing with them inside the welcoming bright lights of the entrance.

Charlotte sulked into the rear of the van, pulling the blanket she’d had earlier around her shoulders. Her mind was racing, the adrenaline having come down earlier and now her body slumped in exhaustion. She curled up, using one of the garbage bags of clothes for a makeshift pillow and quickly drifted off to sleep, the first she’d had in… well, she didn’t know.

Inside the ER, Angel flagged down a nurse and explained the situation, giving the girls an encouraging smile as three other nurses and a doctor swiftly swarmed in to whisk the girls off for evaluation. Feeling just as exhausted, Angel leaned against the painted concrete walls of the entrance way, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Angel?” A feminine voice invaded his very short moment of reprieve and he opened his eyes, a wry smile forming at the edge of his lips.

“I really had hoped to avoid you tonight, Amanda.”

Having propped against the opposite wall to mirror Angel’s stance, FBI Special Agent Amanda Sims, a tall slender built woman, wearing a zipped up blue FBI jacket, black hair tied back in a tight bun, and piercing blue eyes, returned his wry smile with one of her own, “If you had it your way, you’d avoid me all the time.”

“Reports and procedures slow me down.” It wasn’t the whole reason, but the other reason was known and unspoken between them.

Amanda sighed, not pressing the rest, “Listen, Angel. I appreciate what you do, and you skirt the lines just on the right side to keep me from having to bust your balls, but for me to give you the space to operate I need to be kept in the loop. Plus, the brothers demanded a ransom and you know that means FBI involvement, every time.”

“I know. It’s nothing personal, Amanda. I really am not trying to argue with you. I’m just tired. I was scared tonight…”

Amanda cuts him off, “You’re scared every night, Kevin.”

Cutting her with a sharp glare, “I don’t want to hear it from you, Amanda. Just because you know me doesn’t mean I want or need any of your psychological bullshit. Okay?”

Holding her hands up in surrender, Amanda sighs, “No, you’re right, it’s not my place anymore, if it ever was. But I’m worried about you. You go head first into every missing person’s case that comes up, and if children are involved, you are almost out of control. I stand up for you to my superiors, reminding them of your military service and your record, and that you’ve solved and saved over a dozen lives that we may have otherwise lost.”

Angel turns his head away. Over a dozen lives saved came with the stark reminder of the ones he lost and there was no balancing that in his mind. How long would he be tortured with what he did?

Amanda continues, “It keeps them just off my case and so I stay off your case, but sometimes I have to poke my nose into your business. Like tonight.”

Her tone catches his attention, “What about tonight?”

“It’s really strange, but the report I got over the radio from the arresting offices at the sight, says the Pry brothers were white as sheets and rambling on about a monster attacking them. Now, I’ve read every report from your missions and never heard of anything like this. Care to explain?”

Anticipating that possibility, Angel shrugged, “Been watching a lot of horror movies in my downtime and wanted to test a few theories on scare tactics. That’s all.”

Amanda eyed her friend. She’d known him since before he joined the military, remembered his carefree attitude, sense of humor and how big of a heart he had, but she never pegged him to be a liar, and something in his tone set off her senses, honed from years of experience as an agent. She also knew the direct approach would yield no results, and just put him on the defensive. This was something she would need to figure out later.

“Well, whatever you came up with did one hell of a number on the brothers. They’re scared out of their minds and incoherent to a degree. We’ve decided to move them to a facility for evaluation before the transfer to the state jail.”

“Good!” Angel pushed away from the wall, “It’s the least those fuckers deserved. If you’d seen what I saw the one prick did to that little girl, being scared shitless is the only mercy they deserve.”

Amanda frowned hard, “Kevin..”

“It’s. Angel.” He reprimanded in a clipped tone.

“Angel,” Amanda sighed, “I’m not disagreeing with you. Just, whatever new tactics you are employing, don’t give them any possible outs with an insanity plea.”

She was right and he knew it, but after seeing Charlotte in action and how much it could give him the advantage, it was a risk he was going to keep taking if it meant saving more lives, more children, but aloud he placated, “No, you’re right. I’ll work on my tactics, as long as it does not put any innocents at risk.”

“It’s the best I can ask, except I’d love to see what your new tricks are?”

“Not likely, “Angel’s body was near its end, exhaustion over taking him, “If that’s all, Agent Sims?”

Short and addressing her in title, Amanda knew she wasn’t going to get any further with Angel, tonight. She frowned but nodded in dismissal, “That is all, Mr. Collins. Go get some sleep. You did great tonight.”

He deserved the clipped response, but didn’t have the energy to continue, so he nodded once and turned, walking out of the ER entrance into the chill air. He gave one quick glace back to see that Amanda had been called over to the doctors, and moved with a quick pace to the van. Opening the driver’s side door, he jumped in and closed the door with a thud. It was louder than he intended, his anger rising, and it came with a follow up mumble from the darkness in the back of the van.

“Angel”

Charlotte's soft, questioning voice had a calming effect on Angel and he spoke softly back, “It’s okay, Charlotte. We’re done here.”

“What now?”

“We need sleep. I have a room booked a bit back the way we came. Go back to sleep until we get there.”

She wanted to talk to Angel, but his tone sounded as tired as she felt, so she settled back into her makeshift nest as he started the engine and pulled away from the hospital. The white noise of the road lulled her off to sleep quickly, and up front Angel drove into the night, his thoughts mixed with questions, concerns and utter exhaustion.

The Hotel

Darkness had started to retreat from the encroaching rays of sunlight on the horizon when Angel pulled into the small, dimly lit old motel off the side of the highway. Twisting the key out of the ignition, he sighed and stretched. When was the last time he’d had any sleep? Pushing the door open, he dropped his boots on the crumbling asphalt and stretched, feeling and hearing the crack of his bones and muscles. The stretch did good, and he moved to the back of the van and opened the two doors. Charlotte bolted up like a jack in the box, her eyes a faint red until she saw it was Angel.

“Sorry.” Angel shook his head, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Her eyes calming down, Charlotte looked past him to the motel, “We’re sleeping here?”

“Yeah, it’s not the best, but I tend to hole up in these kinds of places, as my cash flow isn’t always so good. Come on, it’s more comfortable than the back of a this van.”

Holding his hand out for her, Charlotte takes it gently in hers and lets him guide her out. He let’s go and goes to the door of the room he booked and unlocks it and opens it for her to enter. She steps in first and he flicks on the light, shutting the door and he blinks, realization kicking in. He’d booked a one bedroom.

“Shit.”

Charlotte looks at him, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not a big deal. I booked the room before I found you, so..” He looks at the two very uncomfortable chairs, surrendering a restful sleep, “You take the bed. Get some sleep.”

This was another moment that Charlotte had to question what she knew, how she knew it versus all she’d forgotten. She knew what a bed was, and what it signifies between two people sharing it and she felt her cheeks flush warm. She also had a moment to ponder asking him to share it with him because when he was in the hospital, it was the first time she’d been left alone outside of running the mission and it made her feel incredibly lonely and vulnerable. Feeling it would be inappropriate, she closed those thoughts down. Moving to the bed, she pulled the covers down and slipped in, laying her head on the pillow she looked at him, gratefully. “Thank you, Angel.”

Having pulled the two chairs together, facing each other, Angel had settled into one and his feet up on the other, “You’re welcome, Charlotte. Good night.”

Charlotte responded with a loud yawn, squeaking out a cute, “Good night” within it and Angel smiled softly, closing his eyes and hearing Charlotte’s soft breathing told him she’d fallen right to sleep.

Nature Calls

 

The midday sun greeted Charlotte's weary eyes as she opened them to see the front curtains failing to defend the room’s darkness from the invading light. She had no idea how long she’d slept, but she stirred in the sheets feeling well rested and looked towards the chairs Angel had slept in to find him gone.

Suddenly alert, Charlotte sat up straight in the bed and her sharp ears picked up the sound of rushing water. Oh, she realized, Angel was in the shower. Another sudden wash of warmth greeted her thoughts, and she shook her head. Pulling the sheets away, she stood up and stretched, and did a self check of her body. She felt good, very good. Last night, she saved lives and the sleep had recharged her mind and body. She let herself bask in the moment, until a strong sensation hit her and she looked towards the bathroom door. She had to pee.
Now that she was aware of it, it was a very uncomfortable feeling and she clenched herself. How long would Angel be? She paced for a couple of minutes, and tried to distract her attention by taking in the details of the room. The bed, the two chairs Angel had slept in, a round table with his keys and ranger vest strewn on it, a small desk and an old CRT black Television resting upon a cheap brown dresser. The effort to control herself was a losing battle and she finally gave up and went to the closed bathroom door and gently rapped on it a couple of times. She heard the water turn off.

“Angel?”

His voice carried through the door, “Yes?”

“I uh…” She bit her lip, the word embarrassed her, but she had to, “I have to pee.”

She heard shuffling on the other side of the door and in a moment it opened and Charlotte’s cheeks definitely flushed for sure. Angel stood there in two towels, one around his waist and one around his shoulder and she was treated to a clear look at his upper body, muscles and trimmed body, speckled with scars and she stammered, “Sorry.”

Angel shook his head, “No, I’m sorry. I should have checked with you before just in case. I haven’t shared a bathroom with a woman in a long time. Please, go in.”

She shifted past him, sensitive to his closeness and thanked him, the urge to pee more important now than delicacy, she turned and shut the door fast. Outside the door, she heard him call out, “I’m going to be changing so don’t come out until I say, okay?”

“Okay” was all she could say as she pushed her jeans down and opened the toilet lid and sat down. With a long, drawn out sign, Charlotte let the relief wash over her as the pressure ebbed. So, she chuckled internally, demons urinate. Wonder if that tidbit appeared in any of Angel’s stories.

As she relaxed, she looked to the shower. Again, it hit her that the things she knew, or that felt natural to her, conflicted with all she could not recall. Okay, she thought to herself, basic needs such as sleep, bathroom, food were unconscious thoughts and needs she knew she had. Who she was, where she came from? Somewhere in the dark and out of reach.

Cleaning herself, she stood and closed the seat cover and flushed. Turning the knob in the sink, she washed her hands, looking at herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair looked well kept, and fell down to her middle backside, and she wondered if she should bind it in some way. Her large black eyes stared at her with unanswered questions, and she licked her full red lips, moistening them. As she stared at herself, she let her power seep forward and she became an audience to her own transformation. Her black eyes turned a deep crimson and her irises reshaped themselves into snake like slits while her normal round eyes switched to a much more exaggerated monolid shape giving her a natural menacing glare. Her horns broke through the skin on her forehead without even a hint of pain, only pressure as her skin wrapped around the base, wrinkled yet secure to the bone. Her canines sharpened first, larger than the rest of her teeth but each one changed almost magically into cruel, flesh rendering tips. Her tongue flickered through the spaces in the middle and she clicked clawed finger nails on the porcelain sink. She felt her rear end move and she watched a tail with a spade-like tip rise up, swaying like a charmed cobra. She grinned, lifting her lips in a growl to see more of her teeth and she imagined the fear she’d put into those two men. The satisfaction filled her and she relished in the memory, and even though she felt bad for scaring the girls, what she did to those men trumped it.

“I’m dressed.”

Angel’s sudden voice through the door caught Charlotte off guard and she turned her head sharply towards the sound, hissing softly, her skin rippling like a stone breaking the water’s surface, and she felt the heat of ember fire dance between her finger tips. Pulling herself in, Charlotte focused and watched her demonic features melt away just as quickly as they’d sprouted, and once she knew she had her voice under control, felt safe enough to speak, “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“Not at all.” And she could literally feel his body against the door on the other side, which was amplified by her power she’d just let flow, “I’ll go get you some clean clothes out of the van and leave them by the door. Do you feel safe here alone for a few minutes? I’d like to go get us some food.”

FOOD! The one thing she’d forgotten all about and suddenly her stomach accused her harshly of her forgetfulness. “Yes, please!”

“Anything you want?”

Charlotte didn’t know at all what she wanted. She could not remember the last time she had any kind of meal, and considering what she was, she didn’t exactly want to think about it. “You choose.”

She did not see the smirk on Angel’s face as he told her he was leaving after leaving clothes for her on the bed, as he knew that answer would always come back to haunt him. Choose for a woman, food? This was going to be interesting.

Charlotte heard him open the door to go to the van and turned back to look in the mirror, her human features greeting her. With a pull of her power, she let her eyes go red one more moment and then fade. She was gaining confidence in calling her power, and looked forward to all the good she could do. Sighing, she gave her rumbling tummy a scolding to have patience and turned to the shower, she pulled her black T-shirt up over her head, dropping it in a corner and let her bare chest rise and fall in the warm air. Slipping her panties off, she turned on the shower’s hot water only and as the steam rose from the heat of the pouring shower head, she stepped in and closed the curtain.

 

Checking in with Cassie

Windows down to let some warm fresh air in, Angel drove up the drive way to the exit of the motel and looked to see what he could see. Right in front of their accommodations was a BBQ joint which sounded good, but likely more money than he wanted to waste. He could see a Sunoco gas station to his right, and a Subway shop if he turned left. Peering at the gas gauge decided his first destination. Turning right after the traffic cleared, he drove up and into the station, parking next to a pump. Shifting into park, Angel leaned back in the captain’s chair and let out a slow breath, and fished his cell phone out of his breast pocket. He clicked on the contacts list, found the number he wanted and pressed call. He listened as it rang one and a half times before it was picked up.

“Angel? You okay?”

Eyes closed, comforted by the soothing voice of his sister, he let out a soft, “Yeah.”

“Good. I got the report about the Pry brothers, so I knew you were but you usually call and check in right after a mission.”

Angel debated on how much to share with his sister, and in that moment he made a snap decision to not say anything. Not yet. “Sorry, Cassie. By the time I got the kids to the hospital and back to my room, I could barely think.”

“Well, I don’t like to be made to worry about you.” Cassie admonished, though her voice wasn’t angry, “Anyway, I filed the report with all the others, as usual, and thankfully the frequencies have been clear since the Pry incident began.”

Angel thanked the Gods for that, “Good. I could use the break. Anyway, I wanted to check in so you’d stop worrying. I gotta get a bite to eat. Talk later?”

“Yeah, take care, lil brother. I’ll be in touch if necessary.” Cassie hung up and Angel put his phone back in his pocket, and got moving on fueling up and collecting food. He didn’t want to leave Charlotte alone for long.

You Don't Eat The Bones!

With the shower finished, body dried and new clothes adorned, Charlotte dropped her butt onto the edge of the bed and started untangling her hair with a brush that Angel had left for her. As she worked the knots out, she looked at the TV and had a familiar feeling about it. She reached forward and pushed at the buttons until it warmed to life. With eyes wide and hair forgotten, Charlotte was pulled into a trance of television programming. Sports, daytime TV soaps, Judge programs, news.. she flipped the channels, enthralled by the different programs until she came upon an action sequence in a movie and flipped herself on her belly on the bed and stared intently at the unfolding story.

Some forty minutes later, Angel returned and entered the room with arms full of plastic bags of food and drinks and Charlotte grinned at him, pointing, “What is this!?”

Angel peered at the movie and shrugged, “Robocop. I see you figured out the television.” Sitting the bags down on the table, Angel pulled out a couple boxes of KFC chicken, since it ended up being next to the gas station, it was the quickest grab and go he could think of, until he wound up stuck in a long ass drive-thru. He pushed his vest off the table and opened up both the boxes and set two large soda cups down.

“Charlotte, you gotta eat.”

Turning her head towards Angel, she tried to keep one eye on the movie, pouting, “But it’s so goood!” she drawled out.

Angel shook his head, the first real smile he’d had in days crossing his lips, “I thought you were hungry?”

Charlotte nodded and stood up, walking sideways to the table, trying not to miss the show. She sat down and the smell of the chicken focused her attention and she peered at the box curiously, “What is it?”

Having taken a big bite of a biscuit, Angel held up his hand to ask for a moment and swallowed, pointing to each item in turn, “Chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, biscuit.”

“Chicken?” Charlotte repeated in question, and picked it up. It smelled really good and she took a small bite. Eyes thrusting up at Angel, Charlotte squealed and took a second larger bite, eagerly devouring every bit but when she started to crunch down on the bones, Angel whoahed, “Hey, no. You don’t eat the bones!”

Bones!!?? Charlotte started choking, spitting out most of the chicken she’d inhaled in her ravenous hunger and frighteningly stared at Angel’s worried face, “Bones!? This is an animal?”

It never even occurred to Angel to explain the types of food humans eat or from what. He quickly explained the concept to Charlotte, that animals such as chickens and cows are processed for consumption as well as fruits, vegetables and so on. Charlotte was not happy with the explanation, and firmly said she would not be a hand in, or consume any meat, if it meant the suffering of any animal. She sniffed and pointed to the other items, and Angel told her what they were made of and with one eye on Angel, daring him to touch his chicken, she slowly ate the slaw, potatoes and biscuit. Angel grumbled and dumped the chicken into the trash and joined her in the vegetarian feast. He could not believe it, Charlotte was a vegetarian demon, and he was going to be judged at every meal.
As she ate in silence, the food settled into stomach and she felt better, and her attention returned to the TV, “What is ‘Robocop’?”

Grateful for the subject change, he checked to see what scene was playing and gave a quick recap of the story to that point, sharing a few facts about the actors, where it took place and such as Angel loved these kinds of movies and it had been years since he got to share in watching one. As they watched, one of the characters repeats a line from earlier and she looks to him, “What does ‘I’ll buy that for a dollar’ mean?”

“It’s kind of like a ‘catch-phrase.’” And seeing her look, continues, “In film and TV some characters develop them as comedic phrases that represents them, or a punchline in a climatic moment. Heroes will sometimes say it as they take out the bad guy at the end of a story.”

Charlotte’s eyes sparked, “Heroes say them? Like you, right? Do you have a catch-phrase?”

Angel shifted uncomfortably, “I’m no hero, Charlotte. I do this because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Which is what heroes do, right?” She prods him.

“I don’t like the label, Charlotte, okay? “Angel turned away, “I wouldn’t deserve it anyway.”

The movie no longer thrilling her, with Angel’s voice strained with sadness, she pushes the off button and comes over, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Why wouldn’t you deserve it?”

Shaking his head, Angel does not answer. Charlotte tries a different approach, “Will you at least tell me something about you? I trust you, very much, for you’ve taken such good care of me but I am so very curious.”

“I don’t like to talk about myself, much, Charlotte.”

Charlotte stepped around and knelt before Angel, taking both of his hands into hers and gives him her full soft eyes, “I don’t know who I am. It scares me so much. Who am I? Where am I from? If I could, I would share with you my entire soul, gift you my being as a thank you for saving my life. I can’t do that and it pains me so much.”

Her vulnerability was raw and Angel surrendered to her request, “Very well. I will tell you some stuff for now, but.. there are things I do not want to revisit, not anytime soon. But you deserve to know things about me, Charlotte, especially if we’re going to be a team and trust each other.”

Giving his hands a firm squeeze in appreciation, Charlotte stands up goes to sit in the other chair, eager to listen.

Turning in his chair to face her, Angel doesn’t even get a word in when his phone rings. Pulling it out, he sees it’s his sister, “Hold that thought a moment, it’s my source, and could be important.”

Angel sees Charlotte’s demeanor change, becoming serious and nods as he steps outside, shutting the door. He answers the phone, “Yes?”

Inside, Charlotte sighs. In the shower all she could think about was Angel. Who he was, what drove him to do what he did, which she found amazing and heroic, but she knew there had to be something behind it. She craved to discover more of him. It wasn’t just because he’d saved her, let her join him, trusted her demon side and took care of her. No, it was something else, something intimate. Her thoughts were interrupted as the room door was open quickly, Angel’s frame large and tense, filled the space.

“Pack up. We have a mission!”

Chapter 6: Charlotte's First Solo Rescue

With the van packed up and ready, Angel and Charlotte got into the front seats and he slipped the key into the ignition, firing up the van’s engine. As it idled, he opened his phone and checked his email, seeing that Cassie had sent him the details.

“Who’s in danger, Angel?” Charlotte inquired, concerned.

“A child’s gone missing in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The parents reported him missing about three hours ago, and search efforts have just started. We’re about four hours away.”

“A missing child, “Charlotte repeated, pained, “But not kidnapped? That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“I know, but the silver lining is how soon he was reported missing and is likely just lost. Sometimes these things resolve themselves before I get there, but I told my source to send every news report she hears, and I turn nothing down.” Angel explained as he shifted the van into gear and backed out of the parking space, turning the wheel until the van was turned ninety-degrees and put the van in drive.

Charlotte thought for a moment, “What can I do, then? I don’t need to haunt anyone.”

“By the time we get there it’s going to be getting dark. You have amazing eyesight and increased speed, so you’ll be best suited to scour the areas that they have set out in quick fashion.”

“Smell, too.” Charlotte added, and Angel gave her a quick curious look.

Giving Angel an apologetic look, explaining, “When I cornered the one man in the bathroom, I could smell his fear, it was.. sweet… and strong. I realized that in my demon form it isn’t just my sight that’s elevated, it’s all my senses. I could hear you outside when you darted him, too.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I know,” Charlotte’s voice sounded distant, “I was so caught up in the moment, and then focused on the girls on the way to the hospital, and then..”

“No, it’s okay, Charlotte, “Angel assured her, “Things happened so fast, but it’s good to know you have these abilities. Do you think if you got a chance to smell something of his you could track him easier?”

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Charlotte nodded, “I think so, yes. When I first changed in front of you, last night, I caught a very strong scent of fear, and like the man, it tasted sweet, and it made my insides flutter in a kind of hunger.”

“Fear excites you.” Angel said, matter-of-factly.

“Sort of? With you, I felt shame and fear of being rejected, but I relished in the fear I put into those men last night. It was exhilarating and..”

She paused, feeling real embarrassment, “..and arousing. I don’t understand me.”

“We’ll figure it out in time,” Angel gave her a quick reassuring look, “but right now, our focus will be finding the boy, and it’s good to know you have an even bigger advantage going in.”

“I’ll do my best.” Charlotte promised, and then took a deep breath, “You said it’s a few hours to the site?”

Angel nodded, stopping at a red light, “About four hours.”

“Then,” Tentatively broaching the interrupted topic, “Will you tell me about you?”

.
.
Over the next couple of hours, Charlotte listened intently to every little detail Angel shared about himself. Things he loved, how he grew up and his favorite foods, to which she inquired if any of it was animal, and Angel admitted yes and she grumbled at him. He talked about his favorite sports and films, promising to show her many more movies, especially horror to give her more ideas for any time she could use them. He mentioned his sister, who was two years older than him, who left home at seventeen because of their over bearing Catholic parents, and when she could joined the military as a communications officer. She’d since left and now owned a witchcraft shop in New Orleans as she always had an infinity for the supernatural, even though Angel never believed in all that stuff, until now, that is. He revealed to Charlotte that Cassie was his source, sending him intel and directions whenever a case popped up. He explained that when he left the army, and told her what he was going to do, she wanted in, and would use her contacts and connections. He appreciated it, and she has been a huge reason for his successes. What Angel glossed over, yet again, was what made him leave the army but Charlotte was starting to feel it was something incredibly tragic. She also wondered if Cassie might have a way to help her remember who she was, but she was conflicted on if she wanted to know just yet.

When that thought came to her, it was accompanied by another, stronger feeling. Did she really want to know? Did she want to risk discovering that her demon side was the Dominate of the two halves of her, and she’d become for real, the monster she created for those evil men? And what of Angel? If she regained her true self, would she lose him? She realized he was the one thing she didn’t want to lose and if it meant sacrificing her past to stay with him, she was quickly accepting the sacrifice. It also lead her to ask him something that she wanted to know.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

It was such an out of left field question that Angel blinked, unsure of why she asked, but answered truthfully, “Not since before the military. I dated in high school like any one else, but there was only one that I was serious with during my senior year.”

“What was she like?” Charlotte was curious what type of woman Angel was attracted to.

“Strong willed, stubborn, sensitive, extremely intelligent and bold. Traits that I loved at the time, but annoy the hell out of me, today.”

“Why?”

“One thing I’ve not explained to you about what I do, is that while I am on the right side of the law… I sometimes… push it to extremes… extremes that would get most thrown into jail or have their license as a bounty hunter revoked. In that regard, I’ve been lucky… I guess I can say that word.. to have someone who has my back and gives me more wiggle room than I sometimes deserve. Someone who knows me more than anyone else.”

“Your ex?”

“FBI Special Agent Amanda Sims.” Angel announced, “A frustratingly brilliant woman.”

“But you’re not together, anymore?”

“No. We had different goals. She went into the academy with the sole desire to work in the bureau and I wanted to serve my country. She was dedicated and very capable, and I’m glad she realized her dreams. She’s a very special lady, but we drifted apart.”

Charlotte sensed a bit of regret but also felt a sense of relief. She bit her lip and looked out the window again. She had to reconcile her own feelings, being both sad that he was lonely but glad that he was? Fuck, what a way to feel. Human emotions sucked, she decided.

The van went silent after that, with both of them lost in their own private thoughts and the scenery flew by at a quick pace as they neared the campsite. About thirty minutes out of their destination, Angel’s phone rang and he pulled over to the side of the road, parked and answered.

“Hey, Cassie, news?”

Charlotte’s ears perked up and she could make out both sides of the conversation as if Cassie was in the van with them.

“Nothing bad, but nothing good,” Cassie’s voice carried, “They’ve covered a few grids right around the campsite with no luck. Choppers are being sent in, as well as tracking dogs, and they’re expanding the perimeter. How far out are you?”

“About 25 minutes or so. I’m coming in from the Northeast.”

“Okay, I have Google Maps up and suggest you go to the point I’ll send you. The frequencies say a group is amassing there to search an expanded area to the north. And Angel?”

“Yes?”

“It’s a treacherous area, usually only experienced hikers go to, so if that kid got lost in that type of terrain…” Cassie trailed off.

“Understood. Thanks for the update.“Angel said goodbye and hung up. He got the van back underway, “Shit. If that kid got lost in an area like that, he could be in serious trouble, or worse.”

“Get me there,” Charlotte’s red eyes looked at him and Angel nodded, accelerating to as safe a speed the twisting roads would allow.
.

.

Twenty minutes later, as the sun began to set behind the mountains, Angel parked the van among a group of pick up trucks and off road vehicles and saw about twenty people already beginning to move into the field. He turned in his chair to fetch his duffle bag, and opening it up, he pulled out a box. Charlotte watched him as he opened it and lifted out a surveillance headset.

“Here, wear this. When you’re out there, you’ll be able to hear me and respond. If you find the boy....”

“When.” Charlotte said firmly.

“When you find the boy, radio it to me and I’ll come get you.”

“How will you find me?”

Angel hands her a smart tag, same as the one he planted on Ben Pry, “This is a GPS tracker. I will be able to pinpoint your location, and come retrieve the boy. Just remember to stay invisible.”

“I promise. I won’t mess up this time!”

“Don’t chide yourself over last time, anymore. That was a learning experience for both of us. I trust you. Now, hide.”

“Got it.”

Charlotte faded out of sight. Angel got out of the van and headed over to meet with an officer in change of directing the search.

“Officer?” Angel questioned as he held his hand out.

“Barter.” The officer shook his hand, “And you are?”

“Kevin Collins, Bounty Hunter and Tracker.” Angel produced his license, adding, “I heard about the missing boy and wanted to offer my help.”

“We can use all the help we can get, Mr. Collins. We’ve got a grid set up and I can show you which one we’d need you on. We also have a K-9 unit in route.”

“Why this area? The boy went missing south of here, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but one of the K-9’s in another unit led us in this direction before losing the scent entirely. Since they still hadn’t cleared the main area, they retreated to try to pick the boy’s scent up elsewhere, and so we set this area up as a secondary search area.”

“K-9’s coming in? You have an item of the boy’s for them?”

“Yes, the parents gave us a pair of his socks.”

“May I see one of them?” And at the officer’s odd look, he added, “Trade secret. I promise my methods work.”

Shrugging, the officer went and retrieved one of the socks, and Angel took it gratefully, promising to return it in a few minutes. Shaking his head softly as he walked to the van, he wondered what the officer was thinking, and smirked.. if only he knew. Reaching the passenger side door, Angel opened it and leaned in, holding the sock up, “Here. Can you get a good scent?”

Having shifted into her demon form, Charlotte’s disembodied voice whispered back after he heard a loud sniff, “It’s… sharp. Definitely unique. I think I can pick it up.”

“Okay, I'm going to leave the door open when I go hand the sock back and join the search party. Good luck.”

He stepped back and turned, feeling her softly brush him as she moved past him, and he walked back to the officer to hand the sock back and get assigned.

.
.
Seconds had ticked by and Charlotte was already ahead of the groups that had begun to fan out. She cleared 50 yards ahead and stopped. Closing her eyes, she inhaled as deeply as she could and was greeted with a barrage of smells. Trees, bushes, animals, flowers, insects.. she could detect them all. But the scent of the boy was absent. Determined, she began to run, her cloven feet deftly carrying her over fallen branches, jagged trails and she moved in a wide zig-zag pattern, covering a lot of distance in minutes. Stopping at a sound she hadn’t quite picked up before, she closed her eyes and recognized a river, flowing fast in the distance south of her. She took another strong whiff and was greeted by the scent of water, algae, fish, mud and..

Her eyes snapped open. The boy’s scent was mixed into the rolling smells of the river! Turning towards the strongest of the smells, she picked up her pace and raced towards the river, opening up all of her senses to their max. In moments, she stood on the bank and looked down at the rushing waters. The sun had faded and now with the overcast clouds, twilight was taking hold. Darting her eyes and inhaling as deep as she could, she picked up two things; the scent of fear and distant crying.

“Angel?” She whispered into the headset. In took a couple of beats, and she heard his smooth voice.

“I’m here. Had to move away a bit from the others first. You have something?”

“I got his scent! I can’t tell how far off he is, but I think he’s in the river!”

Angel hissed urgently, “Go! Find him!”

She didn’t give a response as her legs started moving. Heart aching, Charlotte followed the scent and sound for nearly 300 yards down river, having now gone out of the search grid area. Thanks to her demon form, she alighted over the rough terrain, her eyes wide to let all the possible light in and give her a clear view of her surroundings. A quick pause to listen, the sounds of crying now lapped over the sounds of the river and she honed in.

Stepping over a ridge of an embankment, she looked down into the rushing water and there was the boy, stuck in a fallen tree that was a third of the way into the fast moving river. She quickly accessed that he had to have fallen in some place upstream and got carried to this spot, catching the tree to stop himself, but the water was too fast for him to pull himself out. She could tell he was fading, fast. If she didn’t get him out, he’d drown.

“Angel!” She radioed, “I found him! I found him! Track the tag! I have to get him out, now!”

“I’m coming!” Angel’s voice affirmed, with a hint of pride for her, and she clicked off the radio and looked around, seeing what she could do.

“Fuck, if only I had wings!” She cursed her limitations, but pushed it aside as she needed to rely on what she did have. Moving down to the edge of the river, Charlotte saw that he was out of her reach by some twenty feet. Testing the strength of the fallen tree, she tentatively started to crawl out but could only get half way when she heard snapping. The tree was not going to hold her weight if she went any further. Quickly thinking, Charlotte wrapped her demon tail around a thicker branch and slipped into the rushing water, the force more than she anticipated and it knocked her against the tree.

“OOMPH!” She let out a pained shout and the boy looked her way, eyes bloodshot from crying and let out a fearful whimper. Cursing herself again, she bit her lip and reached out for him. She knew he'd be scared at the feeling but if she could carry him around the tree and swim him to shore, maybe he’d think he got a current to lead him ashore.

Charlotte reached out but he was still out of her reach and she couldn’t get closer. She saw a six foot thick branch, broken off from the tree, lodged in among the other branches and thought if only she’d grabbed it first, she could reach him with it. She stared at the branch for an infinite but split second moment, wishing she had it and then she felt something solid in her clawed hand.

The branch she wanted had blinked out of it’s lodged spot to reappear in her grip, conjured as if by magic. Charlotte gasped. How? How!? She pushed the question aside and slipped the branch through the water until it nudged the boy. Would he grab it? She took a chance.
“Grab the branch.” She spoke just loud enough for him to hear.

“Wha..?” He couldn’t say much else, his strength was giving out, and he was losing consciousness.

“Please, sweetie, grab hold… trust me.. please.. please.”

Subconsciously, he did as she asked and she pulled steady and firmly those frightening last few feet against the force of the river and brought him to her. She retracted her claws, letting her human hands take over and she grabbed him and pulled him to her. He was out, his body having given up and she put all of her strength into her tail and it pulled her till she could get her waist above the torrent of water. Lifting the boy into her arms and growling deep, she lunged and landed them roughly on the mud and sludge of the river’s edge. She flipped onto her back, the boy held in her tight embrace and she lay on her back, breathing hard, energy spent and she started crying.

He heard him take in a shuddering breath, followed by regular breathing and she cried harder, holding him close and comforting. I won’t let anything happen to you, she thought. I won’t let anything happen to ANYONE! She declared to herself.

She lost track of how long she lay there, body pressed into the cold wet mud, her cloven hooves splashed with lapping water at the river’s edge, but her ears picked up Angel nearing her and she sniffled in relief. She looked up over above and behind her as falling dirt signaled Angel’s arrival at the edge of the embankment.

Angel saw the boy suspended inches above the mud, as if floating and he slid down to kneel next to him and Charlotte’s invisible form.

“You okay?” He whispered.

Charlotte’s wet filled throat croaked back, exhausted “Take him.”

Angel slid his arms under the boy, sliding over Charlotte’s body and she closed her eyes, grateful for his touch and he lifted the boy up and off of her. He stood, boy cradled in his arms, and looked down at the human shaped indent in the mud.

“You can come out.”

The mud shifted but Charlotte didn’t appear.

“I.. I’ll meet you back at the van.”

The tone in her voice told Angel all he needed to know, and without another word, Angel took the boy and began the trek back to meeting spot.

When Angel had moved a distance away, Charlotte finally pulled herself to her feet and wrapper her arms around herself, feeling the sludge slide down her back, her blonde hair nearly a fully dyed shit-brown, and shivered in the growing cold. Taking slow deep breaths, Charlotte pulled at her demon powers and her body began to sizzle, steam rising up off her body, both warming her and drying her. She was still so dirty but the chill in her bones had gone. The few moments alone allowed her to regain her composure, and with a crack of her neck, she turned and took off at a full run, heading back to the van.
.

.

Angel had returned with the boy to a cheering crowd and barking dogs. An ambulance had been called just in case and was on sight, and paramedics took the boy from Angel to quickly attend to him. Officer Barter expressed how impressed he was and others came over to clap Angel on the back, shake his hand and some offers to buy him drinks were added. Angel waved them off, saying he was just doing his job and he needed sleep. A few minutes of quick debriefing by Officer Barter and an exchange of phone numbers in case he had follow up questions and Angel was free to return to the van.

When he reached it, he noticed the passenger side door was closed and he knew he’d left it open for Charlotte so he took that as a signal she was inside. He slid in to the drivers side and closed the door. He listened for a moment.
“Charlotte?”

“Angel.” her voice traveled from the far back of the van, as she had stayed invisible the entire time, and it was soft and pleading, “Get me out of here, please?”

Angel started the van in silence, and guided it towards the two lane road, the headlights cutting the darkness. Movement drew his eyes to the rear view mirror as Charlotte’s form filled out and she came up into the front passenger seat, falling into it as her body gave up, but she remembered safety and pulled the seat belt around her with a click. Angel waited.

“I do not think… memories be damned.. that I have ever been that scared in my entire life.”

Angel responded with silence, giving her time. Charlotte pulled at the belt against her neck, unusually aggrieved by it, “If I feel this way saving them, I don’t know what I’m going to do if I fail.”

Memories flooded Angel’s mind, torrents of pain washed over him, and he let out a slow breath, “I’ve failed before.”

“How do you handle it?” she whispered, sniffing again.

“I curse God.”

“I thought your family was Catholic?”

“I lost my faith a long time ago, Charlotte. I stopped believing.” He shakes his head in bemusement, “But now that you’re here, I’m forced to think that if demons exist, so must angels, and heaven, and that makes it even worse.”

“How?”

“Because. If you don’t believe in God or the Devil, you can curse man for his evils, but if you do believe, you have to wonder what strings they’re pulling, if all this suffering is ‘God’s work’ or ‘The Devil’s doing’, you start to question if any of it is worth it. With what happened, it was easier to just stop believing.”

“What happened, Angel?”

“In time. In time I will tell you.”

Charlotte so badly wanted to know, so she could understand him so much more, but the pain in his voice grieved her heart and she accepted his request. Leaning her head against the window, she watched the trees whisk buy as they traveled off through the night.

Chapter 7: Released Tensions

Checking in with Cassie

 

After they’d found and checked into a hotel, this time with two beds, Angel went to the nearest market and picked up some ready made salads, bread, water, and chocolate, wondering if the treat would make Charlotte feel better. She had remained quiet and distant, other than to ask if she could go shower first as they entered the room. He also picked up some vitamins, figuring if he was going to need to change his diet, supplements would be necessary.

Angel had left clothes on her bed after she’d disappeared behind the door before leaving, and took his time shopping, lost in his own thoughts. Normally, he would feel energetic and in a good mood, being able to help find the boy but Charlotte’s sadness was infectious. He did not witness what she’d gone through, only the end result, and hearing the pain in her voice when he took the boy off her chest, felt deep remorse asking so much of her. He also felt a deep shame of selfishness, accepting her help because it gave him such a unique advantage he’d never had before, and questioned himself if he was doing right by her. It didn’t matter that she’d insisted on joining him, if he was abusing her because of her power, he’d have to find a way to end it.

The conflict of it all was that he made a promise to her, to help her remember her past, and more importantly, to protect her. If anyone every found out what she was, she’d be a target of the Government. And he knew very intimately how disastrous that would be. They would have to work this out, together, but it would wait for later. Tonight, she would be treated to a vegetarian dinner, dessert and he’d find a fun movie to watch, hoping she’d relax.

Paying for the groceries and picking the various bags, Angel left the store and decided to fuel up before going back to the room to give Charlotte a bit more time. He took care of that business swiftly and with the van full, he pulled aside to free up the pump and took out his phone, calling his sister.

“Hey, Angel.” Cassie’s voice was warm, “I heard on the frequencies that you found the boy! I’m so happy. Good job, lil brother.”

“Thanks. It was close. He’d gotten swept up in the fast currents of the river. It was sheer luck I’d found him when I did.”

“Yeah, they said he was out of the search zone. How’d you figure this one out? It’s not exactly a 4-D chess kind of strategy.”

Angel explained what the officer said about the K-9 losing the scent, and that they’d expanded to the area to the north. He went on gut instinct to continue in the same direction that dog had been going before turning around. While it was a flat out lie to his sister, the dog had been right to a degree, as he later deduced where the boy may have fallen into the river and had the searches not stopped, they may have found him much earlier.

Cassie whistled in appreciation, “You never cease to amaze me, lil bro! I admit there are times I wonder if if what you’re doing is best for you, but then these things happen and I thank the Goddesses for their guidance.”

In the past, Angel was known to bite back at Cassie for suggesting ‘divine guidance’ but a flash of Charlie’s demonic form stopped him short and Cassie was quick to pick up on it, “No teasing?”

“Cassie, I don’t know what to believe anymore, but right now I’ll accept that something helped me, tonight, ‘cause even I can’t believe my luck in finding him.”

That something was someone; Charlie, and her arrival and being with him in that moment, saved that boys life. Charlie was a demon, no argument to be made, and it all was really impacting Angel’s conflicting beliefs. He wanted to tell his sister everything, and he knew Charlotte wondered if she could help, but in the moment, he didn’t know what was right, so he would wait.

“That’s quite an admission, Angel, and I’m not going to tease you about it. I know how much everything has weighed on you, and you know I’m here anytime you need me.”

“I haven't given you enough credit, but it means a lot to me that you supported my decisions, both with leaving the service and what we’re doing now.”
“This work is important to me, too. Now. I just.. I just hope you’ll accept redemption sooner, rather than before anything bad happens to you. You don’t have to do this forever to make up for the past. You know that, right?”

“Maybe someday I’ll believe that.” Angel smirked with out humor, “and you’ll be the first to know when I do.”

“I like that you said ‘when’, not ‘if’.”

Angel hadn’t realized what he said. He thought back to how Charlotte was adamant they’d find the boy, correcting his ‘if’ to ‘when’ earlier that night, and found her determination infectious. It felt good to think of a when over an if. He looked at his watch and figured he’d been gone long enough.

“I like it, too,” He granted her a bit of honesty, “I need to get some sleep, sis. Call me if a case comes up, but I think I need about 50 hours of sleep otherwise.”

Cassie acknowledged and gave Angel her love and hung up. Angel tucked the phone away and started the van and headed back to the hotel.

A Necessary Release

 

Hearing the outer room door close signaling Angel’s departure, Charlotte dropped the weight of her back against the bathroom door, laying the back of head against the cool wood. Her mind kept racing over the last two nights. She messed up, showing herself to Amy, and that caused her to not show herself to the little boy, when it could have been the difference between his life or death. She understood why she needed to stay hidden, as Angel warned her what could happen if she was discovered, but it hindered all she could do. She imagined if she’d have free reigns to go into any situation in full demon form with the FBI backing her, how many lives she could ultimately save. Evil would bow before her, as if she was the Queen of Hell, itself, but not to rule them as their leader, but lead them into repentance for their sins. She liked that idea, a lot.

She cursed at the ghostly chains binding her, but she didn’t blame Angel at all. If anything, he’d given her a purpose, and it was a grand purpose and she was grateful that he’d accepted her as his partner.

Pushing away from the door, Charlotte started the hot water and undressed, this time as she looked into the mirror and saw her disheveled self, she shrugged and thought, “Still a sexy bitch!” and let a small smile loose. Focusing on the good she could do, not the limits she had and feeling the moment she fell on the mud with the boy safe in her arms, she permitted herself to feel what she couldn’t in that moment; relief.

Like the scalding hot water that moments later drenched her crusty long hair, and soaked her slim form, that sense of relief washed over her and cleansed away her sadness. There was a lot of complicated shit yet to deal with, but it would wait. The water was a balm to her emotional state, soothing her, and she let her thoughts turn to Angel. She needed to let him know she was okay, so maybe he’d feel better, too. She owed him that.

Soaping up to rid herself of the mud, grime and sludge, Charlotte spent the rest of the shower enjoying the feel of her hands over her naked form, allowing herself to feel a sense of pleasure for the first time as the soap cleansed her physical & spiritual self. She rinsed and then re-soaped all of her body a second time, lost in sensations she couldn’t recall the last time experiencing. Covered in the layers of suds, all the filth long since taken by the drain, her hands explored herself intimately. With the sadness and other negative emotions tucked away, new more intense needs took their place. Biting her lip, Charlotte slowly teased a release from her that she didn’t know until that moment she needed so bad. A soft moan escaped her and she nearly fell, but steadied her feet. Short of breath, she brought her fingers to her lips to taste her sweetness, and sighed contently. She swayed under the water, eyes closed, lost in the void after her intense climax, only to be rudely brought out of it as the hot water was replaced by bitter cold pellets as she’d used up what hot water the shower had.

Cursing her selfishness, since Angel had yet to shower, she shut the faucets off and stepped out while reaching for a towel. She repeated last night of drying and fetching the clean clothes Angel had left for her, and started to brush her hair. She looked at the TV and grinned, suddenly quite curious what there was to watch. She went for the remote when she heard the door rattle and sat back on the edge of the bed, remote in hand, when Angel stepped through, struggling with six full bags of items. Charlotte jumped up, hair a mess and came over.

“Let me help.” She took half the bags off him to help set on the desk by the door, “Wow, what all did you get?”

Angel picked up on her tone, “You feeling better?”

“Yes! I came..” the very slightest of pauses as she smiled internally, “.. to an agreement with myself to focus on the purpose you’ve granted me and that we can do a lot of good and save a lot of lives. I’m so so so sorry I made you worry tonight, Angel! You’ve given me a chance to do good, and it makes me feel amazing that I was able to help Amy, Jamie and that little boy and I want more of it! I want you to be able to trust in me, and see how much I can help you fight for your dreams, too!”

The complete change in Charlotte’s demeanor eased Angel’s own angst of worry for her, and while she may be over compensating a little bit, being able to let the sadness go would help her focus on their future missions.

“I already do trust you, Charlotte. From that moment you gave me my gun back, and your soft voice carried from those demon’s teeth, I trusted you.” He made sure his voice was firm, so she could feel the way he did. He still had to discuss with her his feelings about using her powers, but her words quelled his concerns for the night. Opening one of the bags, he pulled out two plastic containers, announcing dinner.

Charlotte decided in that moment to tease, and let her eyes go pure red as she playfully scolded, “No meat?”

Angel returned her crimson stare with a serious look, his voice carrying a humored undertone, “No, no meat, your highness.”

“Good!” She declared, taking the offered container, eyes back to their dark black, “You learn fast, My knight.”

“Knight, huh? A bit more medieval than Angel.” He chuckled.

Charlotte had the container open and looked at the salad hungrily, but what he said distracted her, “Is it okay to ask what Angel means? I know it’s not your given name, right?”

Sitting across from her and opening his own container, admitting to himself it looks pretty good, Angel takes up the plastic fork and pokes at the various items to scoop some food up, “Angel is short for Angelus, my middle name. In the service, It became my call sign in my unit, too. With what I do now, I feel I am still serving and protecting the innocent, so I kept it.”

“You are an angle to the ones you save, “Charlotte blushed adding, “Including me.”

Angel smiled gratefully at the compliment, giving her a bow of his head, “I am honored to have you at my side, Charlotte, and I know that together we’re going to do a lot of good.”

Hunger took over and the two ate in comfortable silence until the salad and bread was devoured in short order. Charlotte took two bottles of water, finding herself loving it a lot and after meal was over, Angel presented the chocolate to her.

The light that sparkled in her eyes told Angel all he needed. The chocolate was a success. Charlotte looked at him like he’d just granted her entrance to heaven and bit into the bar three times in quick succession after the first. She asked what it was and he told her and she declared that water and chocolate were to be stocked in full at all times. Angel told her he’d obey. The lightness of the air was refreshing and all other items would be checked off later. Angel went and turned on the TV, flipping through until he found a movie to entertain Charlotte with.

Sitting on the bed with his back to the headboard, he watched Charlotte lay on her stomach, flipping her legs up in turn as she giggled at the action on the screen and for the first time in a long time, Angel felt a calmness he didn’t know he would be allowed to have again. There was another feeling, teasing the edge of his emotions, as he watched her. If she never found herself, if she were to stay with him forever… he didn’t know if he was allowed to feel anything for her, or if it was even possible… she wasn’t human after all, she was a demon. But, for the time being, as agreed by both of them, she was Angel’s demon.

Chapter 8: You're Not Human

That night the two watched three movies until it was nearly four in the morning, one comedy, one action and a horror film that Charlotte really focused on, taking mental notes. She really enjoyed this downtime, though she did pout halfway through the first move that there was no more chocolate. During commercials, they talked lightly. Angel would tell her details about the movies, she’d question the commercials, and she listened to him tell jokes, being a little goofy and even throwing a pillow at her to which she threw one back and they did that a few times before a scene in the film grabbed her attention.

Angel looked towards the clock, noticing how late it was and was surprised. He’d spent his career and mission time being very attuned to the time, fully aware of what time it was but being here with Charlotte time disappeared. He only remembered feeling that way once before, with Amanda. Speaking up he announced it was time to get some sleep. He’d already paid for two nights so they didn’t have to rush, and tomorrow he’d take her out so she could actually walk the streets, visit stores and feel visible. Charlotte at first whined but when that whine ended with a yawn, she grudgingly agreed.

Sleep refueled them and in the early afternoon, Angel took her out. They went shopping so she could pick up some clothing of her own choosing. Angel made a note to call Cassie for a small loan, as his funds were dwindling a bit quicker now that he had lady with him. He found a restaurant with a large variety and warned her to accept that others did eat meat and keep her cool. She assured him that she understood she couldn’t save everyone, some were just destined to hell. Angel heard the levity in her reply but sensed it bothered her more than casually. She really did cherish all life.

They ate, talked and Charlotte’s eyes were saucers when the server brought her a slice of ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake. Angel genuinely enjoyed her enthusiasm and happiness and he hoped that she would never become jaded like he had.

Over the next week, they traveled the back roads between towns, stopping at police stations to check on local reports. The couple ate, shopped, laid on their beds watching movies and doing the one thing Angel had truly forgotten to do; Live.
The weeks grew long, as the early months matured into the late summer, and in that time Charlotte began to hone her demon skills between missions. She had forgotten to tell Angel the night of the river rescue what she did, but was quick to rectify that the first week. Angel took it in stride but she could see both pride and awe in his eyes. With that trick, she could conjure anything she needed on a mission for her or him so Angel downgraded from a large duffle bag to a backpack, leaving out anything that wasn’t necessary that she could call upon, later. He really appreciated this and told her so. She practiced her hearing, smell, and vision, wanting to see if her powers would grow so she could scent even further but there was certainly limits. She also began to call upon her physical features independently of each other. She had an idea she could since her eyes flared with her emotions. It took time and focus but eventually she could produce just her claws, tail or horns, and enjoyed sharpening her teeth to give Angel demonic growls if he irritated her. Mostly cause she caught him sneaking something called a hot dog once, and was not too pleased with him as he admitted what it was. Still, as with most things, she didn’t harp him long.

As she grew more powerful, the missions came and clicked off quickly, and Charlotte got to utilize her scare tactics three more times, each time resulting in the safe rescue of innocent children. Charlotte still didn’t completely like being told to go invisible before arriving to a scene or staying that way until they cleared out, but it was a necessary evil she accepted. Angel had sat her down and shared his misgivings about abusing her but she told him this was what she wanted and she trusted him to guide her. One thing he was learning about Charlotte was that she didn’t think or act or expect the same things most humans would. Resolutions of the smaller matters were mostly smooth and just meant being honest with each other.

Then came the night Angel feared the most, as they’d gotten so comfortable with their success, it was extra painful when they’d failed to reach a young teen girl who’d been taken by her father who killed them both in a murder-suicide. Angel got the news from Cassie while they were en route to the home that the police had surrounded, and he pulled the van over, shoulders dejected. Charlotte wept in her chair, feeling helpless. He turned the van around and got them a room nearby.

The usual ritual of shower, food, jokes and movies were tossed away and Angel slumped into his bed as Charlotte pulled her covers up over her head, her soft hiccups from spent crying muffled by the blanket. Cassie had tried calling again, but he let it go to voice mail and sent her a short text that he’d call, tomorrow.

After a while, he heard Charlotte’s soft breathing, telling him she’d finally fallen asleep. Slipping out of bed he went over to the suitcase he’d picked up last month and pulled out a notebook, worn at the edges and sat down at the desk. Turning on the lamp, he opened it and clicked a pen that had been nestled in the spine.

Lost in writing, he didn’t hear the quiet rustle of sheets nor the soft gliding of feet of Charlotte, who’d woken up to the light and saw Angel writing. She gave a soft cough to announce herself and Angel’s haunted eyes looked to her, “Did I wake you?”

“It’s okay. What are you writing?”

Angle closed the notebook, “It’s my journal of failures.”

“Angel?” pain in her voice, she puts her hand on his shoulder.

Putting his hand on top of hers, he leans his head to trap his and her hand against his shoulder, needing the touch in the moment, and he sighs deeply, “I don’t let them go, Charlotte, I don’t let them be forgotten. I don’t let myself forget I fucked up.”

She saw the size of the notebook, whispering “How many?”

“Since I started this job, or since the beginning?” He didn’t realize he’d added the last part.

“The beginning.” She wanted to know.

Angel looked at the book. He opened it at the first page. It was dated one week after he’d left the service. She recognized the date only because he’d told her when he left, not why.

“I guess this is the time to tell you.” Angel resigned himself to opening his memories up and immediately the pain stabbed his heart. He looked at the words on the paper, let go of Charlotte’s hands and stood. He motioned for her to sit on her bed, and he took a seat on his. Clearing his throat, Angel began to read from page one of his journal.

***

When he was finished, Charlotte was crying, not only for the events he shared but for how his soul had been rend asunder. She now understood his core, his very being, who he was and why he was. She saw the angel that swelled inside of him. She had already dedicated her life to helping him, but now she wanted to dedicate her life TO him. Standing, she shuffled over and took the notebook out of his still hands and placed it delicately behind her on the other bed. He looked up at her, eyes wet with memory and she bent and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was soft, comforting and inviting. Angel felt his arms go up and embrace her, feeling her body melt to his. The kiss grew heated and she pushed gently, asking him to lay back on the bed and she crawled upon his form, feeling her body meld with his. This felt so so good. Her body was responding to him, much more intense than any of her shower sessions, and those had been frequent lately.

Her euphoria was short lived as Angel suddenly broke the kiss. She looked at him, worry in her soft black eyes. “Angel?”

“Charlotte.” He swallowed, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Why?” She blinked, unsure she heard right.

“You’re not human.”

The statement was fact, but it was also the most insulting, cruel, mean and utterly despicable statement she’d ever heard Angel say to her. She bolted up and her eyes turned crimson which she knew only proved his point, but as intense as her sexual arousal was, it was nothing compared to a demon scorned.

“FUCK. YOU!” She growled deep, her demon voice coating her softer voice like crude oil.

Angel had more to say, but she deserved to feel this way and he let it play out, having learned that her control was so much better than the first night. He knew, for a fact, if she wanted to hurt him, she would have full control over it and there was little he could do as he was completely unarmed.

As quickly as her rage rose, it fell to be replaced by deep hurt at his rejection and she bowed her head, fresh tears from what should have been a dry well, pouring out.

“I have more to say.”

She sniffed. She should shut him down right there, that was her right, but their relationship was based on honesty. With her control back, she would listen, but she didn’t think anything he said would sooth her.

“I regret what I said, but not the reason behind it. We’ve still not even really tried to find out where you came from, exactly how powerful you are, what would happen if your memories came back and.. “He paused, “If we’re even physically compatible or if by making love, something otherworldly happens. We’re just not.. informed for this.”

It was sensible, intelligent reasoning, Angel had convinced himself as he said it, but it was covering up the fact that he didn’t want to tell her how much he loved her, too, or that reasoning would be countered with their desires, and he couldn’t risk hurting her, himself or what might result from such a union. That was the driving force behind holding his emotions inside, but now Charlotte had shown her desire for him, her love and to reject her deserved a notebook of its own.

Charlotte was silent for longer than he was comfortable with, but there were subtle movements telling him she’d listened and was having her own internal monologue. He waited, and soon she looked up to him. Her black eyes fierce with a decision. “I want to know who I am. I want my memories back. I will fight for your dreams, Angel, but I want to remember mine!”

Taking a deep breath, Angel stood and walked over to Charlotte, who tensed at first, but let him lift her chin up to look him in the eyes. “Then tomorrow, I’ll take you to New Orleans and introduce you to my sister. I knew it would have to happen eventually, but you’re right, we can’t put this off any longer.”

Charlotte turned her eyes away, as the feeling of rejection still bit at her heart, even though her mind was agreeing with him. Human emotions sucked, she repeated frustratingly, but not all of them. When she kissed him those feelings were like a cocoon, a shroud guarding against their grief. She thought back to all he had shared with her, dropping the last of his shields for her and suddenly she felt incredible guilt. She realized that she had taken advantage of him in the moment. She turned her sad eyes, full of regret, back to face him, “I’m sorry I pushed you, tonight. It was selfish of me.”

“For a few moments, I felt normal, safe and wanted.” He told her, “and for that, I thank you.”

Unspoken was the agreement that their feelings would be cast aside, neither getting to tell the other how much their love had grown, and they secretly shared that pain.

“We should get some sleep. It’s a long drive and we’ll have to leave early if we’re to get to my sister’s place before midnight.”

Charlotte nodded solemnly. She walked to her bed and picked up Angel’s notebook, letting her fingers slide over the cover, fresh sadness making her sigh. She turned and handed it back to him, and he took it gently and put it on the other pillow on his bed.

“Good night, Angel.” Charlotte chastised how curt it sounded to her, but she was too tired now and just slipped under her sheets and rolled herself to face the wall, her back to Angel.

Angel gave a silent reply, and went to the desk and turned off the light and crawled into his own bed, mind racing on what he was going to tell his sister tomorrow. He already knew she had an inkling that he’d been hiding something big. She was about to find out how big that secret was.

Notes:

With the end of Act One, I wanted to take a moment to thank every reader who has found an interest in the story I’m trying to tell. The fact is that it got out of control a bit between the ‘idea’ I had in mind, and the ‘reality’ of putting it to paper. The premise wouldn’t make much sense in the real world even if demon’s actually existed. The core seed to this story began with two specific ideas; 1) Charlie on Earth teamed with someone out to ‘save the world’ and “What if the monster under the bed was your protector, not your undoing?” I really appreciate the suspension of belief to focus on Angel & Charlie’s dynamic, or if you’re enjoying how ludicrous it is, as long as the ride’s been fun.

I had a lot of ideas and fantasies laying in bed about all those horror films but that the haunting was against antagonists and not protagonists. Unfortunately, translating them into a series of ‘missions’ for Angel & Charlie wasn’t really viable if I was to keep Charlie incognito long enough to get to the climax of act one, so all that got glossed over, sadly. One haunting rescue, one missing person rescue and one failed mission that I decided at the last minute to put into backstory, seemed enough to run the gambit of her emotions. Plus, I did not want to drag the story on with and having you wonder where this was all going. Apologies to SA Amanda Sims who I intended to have more interactions with them in the first act.

Act One was much more character building, discovery and developing connections between Angel and Charlie, as they took up the very core of the entire first act, and I went with a serious, emotional tone.

Also, If anyone went ‘wtf’ when Angel finally told Charlotte about his past and it wasn’t shared with the audience it’s because it hasn’t happened in my head yet beyond the end result of it. It also requires the development of new characters that will be introduced in the second half of act two. This part of his story is not clear to me yet. How Charlotte reacted to it, is.

With Act Two, the tone of the story is going to change. While the seeds I mentioned about Charlie on Earth as a heroic demon gave growth to the story, it was the music of Hazbin Hotel that served as my muse for set pieces that the rest of the story frames. There will be scenes and motivations directly inspired by some of the songs… as like I’m sure many of us fans have done, imagined a different take on the lyrics and feel of them. I had a lot of fun blending a few of them into the text.

And the villains of the story will make their grand entrances and provide the main conflict for Angel & Charlie, and they will make quite the impact. Act two will be fasted and action packed.

In closing, I again thank you all for reading this far and I hope you’ll be pleased with how it wraps up. I’ve enjoyed riding along with Angel & Charlie so far, seeing their dynamic grow, and discovering things about them I didn’t know when I started. Charlie? A vegetarian demon? Who knew?

If you have questions concerning a plot hole, feel free to ask. I will be revising the story after its complete and if I there’s things that def don’t make sense, maybe I will be able to fix them in post.

Yes, Angel Dust, I do know what that means.

Chapter 9: Be My Example

Notes:

In addition to the triggers above, this chapter has a bit more visceral imagery of violence. Take care reading.

Muffled crying woke Chloe from a painful unconsciousness and she struggled to breath, her head covered in a burlap sack, hindering her oxygen. She felt rocking and swaying and realized she was laying on the floor of a moving vehicle. She could hear and feel others in there with her, and by the sounds, they were all girls of various ages. She tried to move but felt ropes tightly binding her wrists and feet. She tried to remember what happened but it was very blurry. She had been at a club and got hit on by a very handsome older man, and he bought her shots even though she was only seventeen, talking about how she would be awesome in movies and theater. The throb in her head told her he’d spiked her drinks, and with that thought, fresh fear swallowed her. Where was she being taken, and for what reason? Whimpers echoed through out the van and Chloe gathered that there was maybe four other girls, of various ages, in the van with her. She tried to pull herself up to sit against the side of the van but it suddenly turned and she fell over onto another girl.

“Ouch!” the other girl cried.

“Sorry!” Chloe apologized, “Are you okay?”

“No!” the voice shot back, “Where are we? What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.”

Another girl spoke up, “What are they going to do with us?”

Chloe shook her head quietly, deciding not to scare them any further. She didn’t want to tell them the stories she’d heard. For the next few minutes, crying and mixed words of fear filled the van until they all felt it slow down and come to a stop. They all held their breaths, listening to movement outside and screamed as the doors in the back of the van were pulled open. They all heard heavy boots of large men step in, and the van creaked under the new weight as rough, cruel hands grabbed Chloe and pulled her violently up and over someone's broad shoulders.

She heard cries and one girl begging to be let go followed by a cry of pain and a thump. Chloe guessed the girl had been gut punched, as her breath was now labored but she was quiet, otherwise. She went limp in her captors arms to avoid the same fate and felt herself carried up metal steps, as her captors boots clanged against them. After what seemed like hours, she was tossed onto a dirty mattress and her leg bindings were cut. The sack over her head was pulled away and she blinked harshly against the dim light illuminating from a single over head work bay light, with one of the four bulbs flickering from a bad ballast.

Looking around as her vision came back to her, she saw the other four girls seated in a similar fashion, their leg bindings all being cut free. Six men of various size, shape and color stood in a semi circle behind them, semi-automatic weapons shouldered and dark expressions on their stoic faces. Chloe gulped, trying to slow her breathing when one of the men took up his weapon and pointed it at her.

“Stand. NOW! All of you.”

Shaking, Chloe did as she was told, pulling her medium brown hair back behind her so she could see clearly, and stumbled on the dirty mattress. A strong hand grabbed her shoulder to forcefully steady her. “Don’t fucking move, bitch!”

The other girls joined her, side by side, and she got her first look at each of them. Shit, she thought, none of the girls looked to be over 18 and she deduced she may be the oldest, with the youngest having to be no more than 13, maybe 14. Her worry intensified as a groan from an old door announced the arrival of a tall, lanky African American male. This one was dressed far differently than the grunts. He was well dressed in a maroon dress shirt under a black dress coat and rippled slacks, wearing a black top hat wrapped in a blood red band. His boots were shin high, laces slightly undone and he carried a cane adorned at the top with a carved severed head of a goat. Around his neck was a black beaded necklace, a skull with a dagger stabbing through it’s head and out of it’s neck hanging from it. He stepped to the front of the girls, eyeing them all in turn.

“Ah, our new arrivals, at last.” He said, his voice was almost melodious yet tinged with vileness, “Welcome! Welcome!”

He looked at each, “My name is Samedi, and I will be your host for the next few days while we await the arrival of the rest of your friends.”

One brave girl, or stupid as Chloe sighed, spoke up, “What are you going to do with us!?”

Samedi gave the girl a very wide knowing smile but his eyes were cold at the interruption, “Why, my sweet child, you and all the others have been collected for some very special.. fun.. by clients of my boss. You should consider it an honor, really. Some of you may even get to live full, rich lives with your new owners.”

Samedi explained this as he stepped to the girl and lifted her chin to meet his gaze, his fingernails were long, sharp and he nicked the girl’s chin as he held her up for inspection, “But for that to happen, you will never speak unless you are asked a question directly, do. I. Make. Myself. Clear. Bitch!”

The smile was gone and Samedi struck the girl across the face with the back of his hand, flinging the girl onto the dirty mattress, yelping in fear and pain. Samedi turned quickly, barking orders for the girl to be put back in place. One of the grunts hauled her up and pushed her back into the line and Samedi spun back around, all facade of smiles gone, “Now listen up! You will be locked up and given just enough to keep you alive. Forget all hope, cause no one will find you, and you belong to The Bible, now!”

Turning to walk to the far end of the line of girls opposite Chloe, Samedi continued, “Bible is your God, The Word, and you will obey him. He will be selling you off to bidders to be their little toys, for whatever pleasures they wish to bestow upon your lovely little bodies.”

He walks slowly, sizing each tearful girl up in turn, “The lives you knew are over. Accept it, and maybe just maybe, you’ll be the pet of someone who values your life. Not all do, some of you are going to be one night toys. A shame really, as you are lovely specimens.”

He reaches Chloe and looks her up and down, “But do not try to escape. There is no where for you to run, and I will show no mercy to any of you. Your beauty means nothing to me.”

Walking behind Chloe who feels his fingernails graze along her neck, and a tear slips from Chloe’s eye and she shakes violently at his touch. Samedi’s tone darkens, “Do you all understand me?”

A collective murmur of agreement from the girls tells Samedi his point is made and he smiles cruelly, “Yeah. I don’t think you do.”

“Odd.” Chloe thought to herself suddenly, “Why does my neck feel so wet?”

Chloe heard gasps and whimpers from the other girls but it was hard to understand. Then she started choking… her mouth filling with the bitter taste of copper and white hot pain came along with the sensations of wetness and fluid. She reached a hand up to her throat and felt wet heat and her fingers probed mangled flesh. Losing control, she dropped to her knees and worried that she’d be punished for not standing but her gagging took over and her eyesight became blurry as the light above her started to fade. Only then did she realize that Samedi had slit her throat wide open with his blade like nails. Fear, pain and hopelessness filled her soul as her blood and life spilled from her body until the darkness swallowed her for the last time.

Watching Chloe’s body spasm as she drowned in her own blood, Samedi sucked the finger he’d used to slice the girl’s throat and enjoyed the fresh blood while listening to the cries from the other girls. Gorging in the feast of their terror, he sadistically looked their way, his charming smile back, “I’m sure you understand, now. But, just to make sure you never forget.”

Lifting his necklace up and fondling the skull, Samedi uttered some words the girls could not understand. Seconds passed when Chloe’s prone body started to sizzle. Boils and blisters blossoming over her face and neck as the girls watched in stunned disbelieving silence. The girl they’d barely begin to know was cooked in front of them in unseen magic fire. When the smell of burnt flesh wafted up and filled the room, Samedi stopped chanting and looked to the girls, “Obey, and you may be spared her fate.”

Motioning to the guards to take the girls to the place of holding, Samedi stood silently as they were ushered out and once the room was clear, Samedi walked over to a corner of the room yet unnoticed, and flipped open a laptop sitting on a table mounted to the wall. With a couple of clicks with his nails, Samedi called up a video chat and waited for the other party to respond.

A moment later the screen lit up. On the screen a large, muscular image appeared, a bright light fixed behind him causes his image to be washed out, but Samedi could tell her was chewing a cigar, like always, telling him this was his boss, Bible.

“Report.” Bible’s thick, gravely voice clipped with authority.

“The second shipment of girls arrived, adding four more to a total of eleven on premises, with a third shipment of three due in two days.”

“Four? I was informed five were to be delivered tonight.”

“I made an example.” Samedi said without remorse.

“Fucking Christ, Samedi! I had buyers lined up for all of them!” Bible growled, “Your blood-lust just cost me Five Million Dollars!”

“Fear is priceless. The girls will be more malleable. We’re holed up in a very busy area. I will not risk discovery. The girls will spread the word of what they saw, tonight.”

“They better.” The cigar’s end brightens as Bible pulls from it, “I want that third shipment in on time. The barge will be ready in three days.”

“They will be loaded and ready to travel by then.” Samedi nods.

“Good. I want no more fuck ups. I’ve already lost merchandise this summer.” Bible cursed. Someone had been saving girls from his henchmen across the Eastern boarder, and damaging his credibility among his most loyal customers. Of the men he was able to recover, thanks to his connections in the FBI, he learned that they’d been frightened to death by what appeared to be a demon before waking up in cuffs in the back of cruisers. Those men should have wished they’d been killed by a monster after he’d been through with them. Bible was never lenient. He was also not stupid. Whomever was stealing his product had game, and having Samedi as his right-hand voodoo priest, he was well aware of the supernatural and was curious who it was interfering. That would wait for another time, as Bible needed this shipment now. Refocusing on Samedi, “And no more examples or the next example will be you.”

With that threat issued, the screen cuts out, signaling the end of the connection and Samedi’s fake smile falls and he taps his cane on the cold concrete floor, walking back over to Chloe’s charred body. How dare that over inflated egotistical asshole threaten him. Without Samedi, Bible’s syndicate was nothing, but Bible had connections and power Samedi coveted, so for now, he would play the part of subordinate until such time as he could secure power to overthrow Bible. Kneeling beside the corpse, Samedi takes out a blade from inside his coat and cuts deep into Chloe’s exposed leg, drawing a swell of blood. Removing a vial from an inside pocket, he collects the blood and returns the stopper to the lip and tucks the blood filled vial back into the same pocket.

“You may be useful yet, my sweet.” Samedi stands and gives the body a polite bow before walking out the door he’d come through.

 

 

 

 

FBI Special Agent Amanda Sims exited the elevator to the third floor of the Field office on Leon C Simon Blvd in New Orleans, allowing a small yawn to pass her fleshly painted lips. Despite years and years of service in both the military and FBI, she would never be a morning person. Taking a drink out of her large sized Starbucks coffee cup, soothed by the heat of the liquid, she looked for the offices she needed.

“Can I help you?” To her left, coming out of an office, was a young man whom she pegged must have just been assigned to a field office.

“Yes. I’m looking for Director Mike Stefon?”

“Agent Sims?” Inquired the young man and Sims nodded affirmation, “Yes, they’re expecting you. It’s the briefing room two doors down on your left.”

“Thank you.” Sims gave the young man a smile as he turned down the hallway in the opposite direction, off to his own duties. Sims walked to the suggested door and opened it to a briefing already in progress. ‘Shit!’ she thought, ‘Am I late?’ and remembered the time zone was different here than in D.C., a stupid novice mistake.

Her arrival caught the attention of Director Stefon, who was standing at a podium at the head of the room, a projector displaying case files for missing girls on a white screen beside him. He gives Sims a stern look, “So glad you could join us this morning.” a pause, adding in a question, “Agent Sims?”

“Sorry and yes, Sir.” Sims nodded, closing the door behind her, “I forgot the time zone change. Won’t happen again.”

Stefon nodded, “Have a seat and try to keep up.”

Cursing herself, Sims pulled up a chair at the table, wondering if all these missing child cases was starting to break her mind. She never forgot such simple details. Turning her eyes fully on the director, she listened as he continued.

“As I was saying.” Director Stefon continued and filled out the details of the events over the past few weeks. Multiple girls had been kidnapped or gone missing in a frightening short period of time from a small region of Louisiana. Due to the nature of some of the reported kidnappings, all other missing children cases falling into that time range were added to the investigation. Very few credible eye witness reports and tips had come in since the beginning, but one lead was very hopeful. Adding another sheet to the projector, Director Stefon pulled up a photo of a black van that had been seen in the area of a recent abduction of a teen girl named Chloe from a party up in Baton Rouge. Her friends had noticed her gone missing and thought they'd seen her pulled into the van in question. Unfortunately, they could not get the plate and by the time they’d tried to follow, it had disappeared onto the express way.

“One other report on the van suggests it came south towards New Orleans, so this is where we’re going to begin our hunt. Any questions?”

“Yes.” Sims spoke up, catching the director’s attention, “Do you think these kidnappings may be linked to the three other recent cases involving The Bible?”

“We don’t have enough evidence to link them, no, but I do admit that some of the M.O. is familiar. We have agents on those cases, Agent Sims and we’re sharing all intel just in case.”

‘Good’, Thought Sims. There appeared to be no pissing contests going on. She had been involved in enough of those to see cases get messed up due to egos, and took a chance to see how far she could press the teamwork idea, “I do have a suggestion as well.”

The Director held up his hand to stop her, “I know you, Agent Sims and I know your connections and your… fondness… for a certain Bounty Hunter. We don’t need any loose cannons on this mission.”

So much for team-work, Sims sighed, speaking up, “Angel has been on a hot streak all summer. He’s rescued more kids than we have in any given month.”

“Because he breaks the rules, Sims, and doesn’t follow protocol or call in the real authorities until after, which puts those kids at even more risk! I don’t know who you have in your pocket way up in the ranks that we’re not given orders to bring him in, but I’m not going to entertain this idea, anymore. Are we clear?”

With a defiant nod of forced agreement, Sims sits back in her chair, twisting her coffee cup in her hands. The others in the room chuckle quietly, and it seems her reputation has definitely preceded her. Standing up for Angel, debriefing him but never holding him, defending him to her boss at headquarters. A boss she is intimate with, thus why she’s been allowed to let Angel go free each time. A man she’s sleeping with because she wants to protect Angel. The guilt and shame ate at her, but she told herself each time; it was for the children. Besides, she knew any chance to rekindle anything with Angel had passed, so this was her way of staying close.

The Director dismissed everyone in the room, but called on Sims to stay behind. That elicited even more mocking grins from the other agents as they left. Sims stood at attention as the Director came around the podium, sitting at the table in a chair next to her.

“Look, Agent Sims, I was not going to be on record with the others present, but I do admit that personally? I’m glad those kids are safe and protocol aside, I know that sometimes the only way to save them is to do things that isn’t ‘by-the-book’. But this is far, far too serious to have anyone involved that I am not in command of.”

Sims spoke up quick, “Then let’s deputize him. Sir, Angel has something, I don’t know what it is… but his tactics are working far better than any I’ve even seen. He’s captured every criminal without violence, without any of the kids harmed. His skill-set from the special forces alone dictate we consider him.”

“I read the reports, Sims, and some of those ‘rescues’ have left those assholes mentally unstable. We had two already transferred to a mental facility unable to stand trial. If I wanted Angel here, it wouldn’t be to help this case, but to demand what tactics he’s doing. Like I said, I’m glad the kids are safe, but he’s off the reservation on how he’s doing it, and I don’t have time to debrief him and we do not NEED him.”

“Sir?”

Sims wanted to press but Stefon cut her off, “My word is final, Agent Sims. Now go report to Deputy Tucker in room eight for your work assignments on this case. We’ll be out in the field after lunch, looking for leads and conducting interviews, by-the-book. Understood?”

“Understood, Sir.” Standing, Sims nodded, “I’ll report to Deputy Tucker after I freshen up.”

“Good enough. You’re dismissed, Special Agent Sims.”

Sims opened the door and stepped out. Closing the door behind her, she turned towards the restrooms she’d seen as she’d gotten out of the elevator. Her mid-high heeled black dress shoes clicking on the gray vinyl flooring as she walked crisply. Pushing the door to the woman’s bathroom open she walked in and checked to see it was empty. Going to the last of three stalls, she pushed the door open, stepped in and locked it. She didn’t need to freshen up. She needed to make a call. Pulling out her Iphone, she unlocked it with her print and clicked contacts. Angel’s name was at the top, as it always had been, even though she never called him. She pushed the call button. ‘Professionalism be damned’ she cursed, ‘I’m not putting those kid’s lives at stake for some man’s fucking ego.’

She only hoped that Angel was not too far away to help.

Chapter 10: Charlotte Meets Cassie

It was just after midnight two days before Agent Sim’s arrival in Louisiana, that Angel turned the van onto Decatur St nestled in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the headlights reflecting on the windows at the corner. He scanned ahead a few yards and found a good spot and pulled the van to the side of the street. Shifting into park, Angel turned off the headlights.

Charlotte had been quiet almost the entire drive and Angel had not tried to initiate much conversation. They spoke mostly at rest stops and gas stations and it was pretty much just about who got to go the bathroom first and how much chocolate Angel had to get.

The silence ate at Angel’s heart. The bond between had taken a punch, and he wondered if they’d get that back. The drive didn’t do much to ease his worry. Hopefully, Cassie would be able to help. He’d called her in the morning as they were packing up the van and told her he was coming to stay a few days with her, and had something important he needed her help with. Cassie asked what it was about but Angel asked her to wait. She’d agreed and told him she would wait up for him.

When he clicked the headlights off, Charlotte lifted her head off the window shed been propped against, resting. and looked around, “Are we here?”

“Almost.” Angel tapped the wheel, organizing all the jumbled thoughts he’d had all day and turned to Charlotte with a decision, “Cassie lives above her shop a block away. When we get there, I’m going to go up first and tell her about you. Not about your powers but that I found you a couple of weeks ago with no memories of who you are so I took you in. It’s a flimsy story but I just need her to know the basics until she meets you.”

“Thank you for saying ‘power’ and not ‘demon’.” The small switch told her he was trying not to add to her wounded emotions, and it meant a lot to her.

Angel nodded, “That’s another reason why I’m going to hold back some details at first. See, I spent my life dismissing Cassie’s passion for witchcraft and the supernatural. It caused tension when we were kids and then she left early because our parents were strict Catholics and preached at her until she couldn’t take it, anymore. I should have been more supportive.”

He takes a deep breath through his nose, releasing a soft sigh, and then adds with a light grin, “But, since she harped on me for years that she had ‘the gift’, I want to see it in action, for real. I want to see how she reacts to meeting you. See if she senses your power.”

“I don’t want to frighten her.”

“In that regard, trust me that Cassie does not frighten easy. If she’s as powerful as she’s claimed to me over the years, then if anything, she’s going to be very curious. Will you be okay with her scrutiny?”

“I need it. I want her to dig at me, ask anything she wishes as long as it helps me remember myself.”

“Good. I want that, too.” The tone of his voice was thick. He truly hoped Cassie could help. He felt that Charlotte had so much more to her, and it was all good. Starting the van up, he pulled out and drove to the corner, turning right and coasting about twenty yards to park in front of his sister’s shop with her apartment above. He takes the key out of the ignition and pockets it, opening the door, “I won’t be long.”

“Should I get in the back and go invisible?” She looked out the window, seeing a few people still out enjoying the warm night.

“No, it’s okay. You have nothing to hide, here.” Charlotte smiled at that, “Just lock the doors.”

She did as Angel asked after he’d slid out of the van and shut the door. She watched Angel walk around the van to stand on the sidewalk in front of what she assumed was Cassie’s shop. Her eyes drew up the sidewalk to the door and the sign above it announcing the store as :Charmed, I’m Sure: and smiled softly.

Angel looked over his shoulder and gave Charlotte a nod and walked to the side door and rang the buzzer. A moment later, a click of the lock told him it was open and he pulled the door wide and stepped through. Walking up the stairs, he reached the landing and saw two doors, one to the left and one to the right and turned left. He knocked.

He heard the shuffle of a lock and a click, and light flooded out from the room as the door opened and there stood his sister, Cassie Collins, dressed in a soft green top with a white shawl around her shoulders and black leggings hugging her slender legs. Her brown eyes sparkled at him and her hair was tied up behind her in a braid, wearing a beautiful crystal amulet.

“Hey, sis.”

Cassie stepped forward and pulled Angel into an embrace. “I’m so sorry about last night.”

Angel absorbed the embrace and support, squeezing back, then broke the hug, “Thanks, sis, I.. I wish I’d gotten there in time.”

“Is that why you wanted to come stay for a few days? Finally take a little time for yourself?”

“Funny enough, I’m not here for me. I have something I need to tell you.”

Cassie stepped aside for Angel to come in and asked if he wanted anything to drink. Angel noticed a small selection of liquor on one of Cassie’s cabinets but opted instead for some green tea. She prepped their teas and handed one hot cup to him and sat down at the rectangle kitchen table to his right.

Angel then went on to tell his modified story about Charlotte.

 

 

 

Outside in the van, Charlotte yawned loudly. She hadn’t gotten much rest on the drive as her mind kept repeating the night before mixed with worry that Cassie wouldn’t be able to help her. She cursed herself for putting this off for so long but the missions were more important. Then Angel became very important to her and her love for him meant she needed to know herself and she deeply hoped the answer would give them the freedom to be together.

Another yawn told her to stop and take care of herself and she submitted to the pull and rested her head against the window again, and allowed the cloak of sleep to drape over her. She didn’t know how long she’d been out when she was brought out by a soft tap at her window. Opening her eyes, she saw Angel’s soft face and couldn’t help but smile warmly back. She unlocked the door and he opened it up.

“Are you ready?”

The smile wavered, “I think so.”

“Be brave, Charlotte, Cassie already promised to do everything in her power to help.”

He helped her down to the cobblestone sidewalk, and lead her up to Cassie’s apartment. He opened the door and stepped through, with Cassie standing from the kitchen table to come over to greet them.

“Cassie, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, my sister Cassie Collins.”

Charlotte found herself blushing, sudden shyness making her drop her eyes submissively. Cassie was a strong presence and she felt power. Cassie, taking Charlotte’ hand, smiled with sincere warmth, “It is such a pleasure to meet you, Charlie.”

The shyness helped sooth her reply, but her emotions bristled at the butchering of her name and she looked up with a polite but bold correction, “It’s Charlotte.”

Cassie smirked at Charlotte’ reaction, but the smile waned as she too felt power in the air., The hairs on the back of her neck rose and an unseen tinge of electric force traveled between their coupled hands. She looked at Angel who was watching the interchange with keen interest.

Letting Charlotte’s hand go, “I’m sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to offend.” Turning to Angel, “Will you help me gather some of my items from the shop?” Back to Charlotte, “There’s water on the kitchen table for you. Have a seat and we’ll be right back, okay?”

The warmth of the greeting was now mixed with tension but Charlotte nodded and went to sit down. Cassie motioned for Angel to follow her and he did. Cassie moved swiftly down the stairs and with a key in her hand whisked from somewhere on her person, quickly unlocked the door and ushered him through. Once he was past her in the shop, she stepped in, turned and locked the door and spun around at Angel.

“Kevin! Do you have any idea at all what you have up there?” Cassie hissed.

Angel feigned ignorance, but was impressed and told himself a lot of apologies were going to happen soon, “What do you mean, Sis?”

“I felt power. Real supernatural power from her. She’s not human!”

Angel knew he needed to ask the next question even though he felt he knew the answer, “Does she feel evil to you?”

Cassie blinked. What a weird question, and then she looked at him fully, “You know!”

“I knew from the first night I found her”

Closing her eyes, Cassie sighed, “You wanted to see if I was as real I’ve tried to convince you for all these years.”

“I’m sorry, Sis, but yes. My faith, beliefs, everything I’ve always thought I’ve known has been thrown in a blender and I wanted to see how you’d react to her. I owe you years of apologies. You are real, and yes, Charlotte’s a demon.”

Cassie looked up knowing now a demon was sitting at her kitchen table, sipping ice water. She thought on the meeting and holding Charlotte’s hand in hers, how she blushed, looked shy but also defended her name. None of it felt off, none of it felt bad.None of it felt evil.

“I felt power, Kevin, raw power more than anything I’ve ever felt before and trust me, I’ve dealt in a lot of power over the years. But evil? No. Strength, energy and even what felt like real love…”

She looked at Angel at that, “But I have to admit that I only feel goodness in her. I was taken aback and worried about you, so I had to get you away and ask.”

“I firmly believed all of that before coming here but your affirmation is a bonus.” Angel said, “She doesn’t know who she is or where she’s from, but she is growing and learning to harness new powers and tricks on a steady level the past few months, and who knows what else she has yet to discover.”

“Months? You told me you..”

Cutting Cassie off, Angel looked apologetic, “I lied. I didn’t want to have to explain too much before you got to meet her.”

The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place for Cassie quickly. Her brother may be the smartest Collins in the family but she was a very close second and it dawned on her, “She’s the reason you’ve been clearing missions so quickly. She’s been helping you.”

Angel nodded, “She saved the boy in the river, the girls at the farmhouse and helped me apprehend a lot of bad people by using her powers.”

“How is it no one’s found her out?”

“Invisibility is one of her gifts.”

“Wow.” Cassie whistled, “I mean, I know a great deal about demonology, but I’ve never even considered that one could be so.. so… pure. It throws out so much of the academia. But, I gotta ask you. Do you think it’s a good idea she rediscover herself? What if the real her is hidden under the sweetness and she’s…”

Angel held up his hand, “I though that the first night, too, sis but she had every chance to kill me the first time she turned. If you’d heard her scared voice coming out of that thing, the fear of rejection? No, I trust her and I trust that the real Charlotte will be as amazing as this one is. Do you think you can help?”

“I don’t know, but I promised you I’d try and I will.” She paused, thinking, “Give me tomorrow to look over my books and call up some friends as well as commune with the Frequencies. I wont’ tell anyone but I do have questions I need to get answers to so I have an idea where to start. With a normal person, I’d use my crystals and some natural remedies and meditation techniques, but this is a whole new world for me.”

“We need a day to throw away. I’ll take her out to explore the French Quarter, I think she’ll love the chance to let loose after the what happened last night.” Angel’s meaning was doubled but Cassie assumed it was just the loss of the girl and nodded.

“Great idea. I’ll show her around my store after it closes and explain some of what I plan to use, so she gets comfortable with me. I’m going to have to text my assistant to see if she’ll come in on her day off so I can do research.” Cassie offers a smile, “So, let’s go have a proper introduction, shall we?”

Angel nodded and they went back upstairs. Charlotte looked up as they entered and she stood, the power in the air had returned with Cassie and she was on guard. Cassie walked briskly over to Charlotte and held out her hand again, and Charlotte tentatively took it.

“Charlie.” Cassie purposely teased, seeing Charlotte’s black eyes flicker red, and grasped her power and continued, “I am so very pleased and honored to meet you. Angel’s told me everything about you and I promise you I will try to help you in any way possible.”

Charlotte asked Angel with a look if everything meant everything and he nodded.

“You’re not afraid?”

“Kevin’s not. So why should I be? I sensed your power when you came in. I was concerned then, which is why I whisked Kevin off to help me, but the fact is the power I’m sensing is pure. You may be a demon by name, but I’m confident the real you isn’t evil. We’ll find out, either way, when we get your memories back.”

Charlotte sniffed, her eyes wet and she lowered her head, “I’m scared.”

Cassie stepped forward and pulled Charlotte into an embrace, one that told Charlotte she was safe and in the arms of someone who truly cared and she wept quietly, as the pain and fear she’d been bottling up drained away.

“I know, sweetie, there are so many questions to be answered, but we’ll find them, together. Okay?”

Charlotte nodded against Cassie’s shoulder.

Angel spoke up, “I haven’t been here since you moved locations and I didn’t ask you about how many bedrooms you had, since I kept Charlotte a secret, but.. sleeping arrangements?”

Cassie smirked, “It’s obvious. I get my room, Charlotte gets the guest room and you..”

“Couch. Right. At least it’s not a pair of chairs.”

Cassie’s eyebrows lifted in humored curiosity but instead said, “I’ll get you some blankets and pillows. Feel free to shower before bed. I took mine earlier. Plenty of hot water for you both in turn. I’m going to retire now, so I can be up at the crack of dawn and text my assistant and start on research.”

Cassie gave Charlotte a motherly peck on her forehead, and lifted her chin, “Let your mind be free tonight, Hun, and dream wonders.”

The softness and kindness felt familiar, the same familiarity when Angel had first asked her name and it made her feel safe. She nodded and smiled softly, “I think I can. Thank you, Cassie.”

“Good. Your room is the door at the end of the hallway on the left. Bathroom’s on the right. The room is made up, so just make yourself at home.” She let go of Charlotte and walked to the hall way closet and pulled out two blankets and pillows she had stored. She gave them to Angel then bid the pair goodnight and added to not clean up, as she’ll do that in the morning, and closed her bedroom door.

Charlotte watched the door close and looked to Angel, “You can shower first. I’ll go check out my new room.”

Angel shook his head, “I’m going to get some sleep now. I’m too tired to move. You go. I know you love losing yourself in the hot water until it’s gone. You can have the longest hot shower you need, okay?”

Charlotte wasn’t sure if she wanted to lose herself in the hot water again for a while but was grateful to be able to go wash up and scrub away some of her pain. She also realized in that moment it would be the first time she’d be sleeping alone and it made her heart ache a bit. She nodded at his offer and went up to him and slipped her arms around his waist and squeezed, silently telling him she forgave him. He squeezed back and they pressed their foreheads together, as close as they'd dare to a kiss. They parted and Charlotte went to check out her room and then take a very long, very hot shower.

Angel dropped to the couch and took off his boots and socks and settled down under the blanket, laying his head back against the soft feathery pillow. He let out a sigh, letting all the tension that he’d collected on the drive slip away and promptly fell asleep.

Chapter 11: Shared Feelings

Notes:

Total character development chapter with fluff. I believe that after this chapter, the slow burn is over.

Early the next morning, Charlotte stepped out of her new bedroom and heard Angel and Cassie down the hallway in the kitchen talking. Her sharp hearing informed her that Cassie had already texted her assistant, who would be in to open the store, and Angel was planning for the two of them to go out for the day. Moving to the bathroom, Charlotte took care of necessary business and then walked quietly down the hall to the kitchen. Both of their backs were to her with Angel looking over some pamphlets of things to do in the area. Cassie was cooking breakfast, and the aromas in the kitchen caused Charlotte’s stomach to rumble.

“Good morning, sweetie.” Cassie spoke without turning around. Angel lifted his head and looked over his shoulder and smiled softly.

“You heard me?”

“Nope.” Cassie chuckled as she turned to slide some pancakes onto a plate, “But your power pulses around you and I sensed you coming down the hall.”

With a blush, Charlotte settled into the seat next to Angel, and eyed the plate Cassie slid in front of her. Angel smirked while setting the papers aside to accept his own plate, “It’s not meat.”

Cassie shook her head with a laugh, “I couldn’t believe it when Kevin told me of your dietary choices. I’m glad I had some choices to whip up on short notice.”

“I really don’t mean to be an inconvenience, Cassie, but thank you,”

“You are no inconvenience, dear. A challenge, to be sure, but I relish challenges. I called my assistant and he’ll be over in a couple of hours. After breakfast, I’ll get started on some reading. I have a few books in the shop that may help.”

“And we’re going to go out and enjoy the day sight seeing.” Angel declared.

Charlotte nodded, “What are these discs?”

“Pancakes.” Cassie declared, “And I do have toast and oatmeal if it’s not filling enough.”

Angel had already started on his. Charlotte watched him pour syrup over them with a couple scoops of butter and she copied him. Cassie watched, intrigued, as the demon sitting across from her took her first bite of home made pancakes.

Charlotte Mmmmm loudly and went to work on the rest with hungry enthusiasm. Cassie smirked, “I see you like them. Good. Pancakes are not one of my specialties.”

“They’re great, sis.” Angel said after finishing a bite, “When we’re out today we’ll pick up supplies. Just make me a list.”

“Sounds good.”

They ate and talked a bit more until their plates were clean. Angel said he was going to go get his shower then he’d take Charlotte out for the day, and left the kitchen. Cassie started collecting the dishes and Charlotte stood, picking her plate up before Cassie grabbed it, “Let me help you. I don’t want to just sit here. It’s uncomfortable.”

“In that case, while we clean, tell me all about you. Your feelings, powers, what you remember if anything, the things you dream. Maybe we’ll be able to find some seeds to your true self.”

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically and as they worked together to clean up the kitchen, Charlotte told her everything she could about the last few months. How she first changed, that some of her gifts felt natural but others were coming to her in time, like conjuring the branch to help pull the boy out of the river. Determined to make sure she held nothing back, and feeling amazingly comfortable, Charlotte even confessed about the night her and Angel almost made love, why he turned her down and how it made her feel. Cassie listened intently to everything, only interrupting to clarify something. Upon Charlotte’s confession, Cassie took a towel off the handle of the stove and while drying her hands, turned to look at Charlotte squarely.

“You do understand he didn’t mean to hurt you, right?”

“I know.” Charlotte’s voice was contrite, but she looked at Cassie firmly, “But I love him, Cassie. I don’t care if it’s right, wrong or even possible, I love him and I want to be with him. It just hurts that he sees me as a monster.”

Cassie slapped her hand on the kitchen counter, startling Charlotte, who cringed but Cassie’s voice wasn’t rude, only firm, “Kevin does not see you as a monster, sweetie, not in the least. He knows you’re special, different and you’re both here to find answers to that. Not just so you can be the true you, but so you two can be together. Don’t question that, or you won’t try with all your heart and soul to recover your memories.”

Charlotte returned Cassie’s stare with a confident admission, “I slept in that room last night and it was the first night I’d been alone since he found me. I hated it. HATED. IT! I barely slept and when I did I had bad dreams. When I had bad dreams in the motels, I could at least see him in the other bed and it soothed me.”

With a subtle shake of her head, Cassie blew air out past her lips, “Do you think Kevin was happy about sleeping on the couch last night?”

“No?” Charlotte looked over her shoulder at the couch, with the blankets folded neatly and the pillow set on top. She looked back at Cassie, confused.

“You’ve been very honest with me, sharing your deepest feelings and thoughts not just about the last few months, but how you feel about my brother. Maybe you can be that honest with him?”

“He knows how I feel.”

“Yes, but not how much the distance is hurting you, especially when I’m sure it’s hurting him, too. To be as blunt as I can to drive home my point; two people can sleep together without sex.”

Charlotte blushed a bit, “But you sent him to the couch last night. Why the change?”

“New intel. I didn’t know how close you two had gotten. If I had, I’d have suggested the room to both of you. This doesn’t have to be complicated, not if you don’t want it to be. I think it’s a nice change of pace that two people know how they feel about each other, and it isn’t the lack of honesty keeping them apart.”

“Just my memories.” Charlotte lamented.

“A tough challenge, like I said, but I firmly believe that if you two can get over the awkwardness of being a couple, even without sex, you can focus on the tasks ahead.”

“He pushed me away, though. If I ask him to sleep with me, and he says no…” Charlotte trailed off, fresh memories poking her heart.

“What’s real love without risk, darling? Just affirm to him why you need him with you, the loneliness. I bet he feels the same”

Charlotte nodded in acceptance of the task presented to her. She hoped Angel would accept her. As she wondered that, she heard the bathroom door click open and Angel’s footsteps coming down the hallway. Cassie smirked at Charlotte, shooing her away from the sink, “Go get ready for your day out.”

Angel entered the kitchen, dressed in a casual black dress shirt and black slacks, and combing his short hair into place. It was a look that Charlotte had not seen him in before and she admired how handsome he looked, cleaned up and not looking tense for a mission. Angel smiled warmly at the ladies, “That felt good. It’s been a long time since I didn’t have to shower in a motel bathroom.”

“I’m going to go pick out something nice to wear, so I don’t look like a slob next to you.” Charlotte smiled shyly, as she walked by Angel, letting her hand brush his tenderly. Angel watched her go down the hall and turned to his sister, “Did I miss something?”

“Better be the last time you do.”

“Wha?” Angel’s perplexed face was met by a laugh by Cassie.

“Go. Have a good day. I’m going to go start the research and help Davis open the store when he gets here. I’m closing early, so be back here by 6pm and we can go over anything I dig up. I will text you with anything I need for the pantry or for research.” Cassie stepped past Angel, giving him a pat on the shoulder and left him there, shaking his head.

“Wha?”

 

 

 

 

Twenty minutes later, Charlotte stepped out of her room wearing a long dark red V-neck sundress with black high heel shoes. It was obvious to Angel she’d opted not to wear a bra and it was subtle, but revealing how her body filled out the dress. This was the first time he had seen her dress up so nicely, and he blushed as she stepped up to him, “So, handsome? You gonna show me a good time?”

“It would be my pleasure.” He held out his arm and she took it, a fresh blush warming her cheeks. They left the apartment to enjoy the day together while Cassie unlocked the door to her shop and entered.

Cassie breathed in slowly, always loving the smell of her shop, with it’s incense, candles and various items of enchantments. She specialized in crystal magic, but kept a large variety of witchcraft related items in stock as she was always learning and exploring. Heading to the book section, she looked over the titles and genres, picking out a few selections to start on. She looked at the clock and figured she had about forty minutes before Davis, her assistant, arrived.

Setting the books down on the front counter, with its glass front case displaying fine amulets and charms, she stepped around to the employee only side and pulled up her stool and leaned forward, opening the first and began to read. Flipping through the pages and finding little that she could use, she pulled another book over and started again, browsing the chapters. Lost in her reading, time flowed fast and the next thing she knew, Davis was walking through the front door, carrying two large cups of coffee She looked up and smiled at the young man.

“Good morning, Davis, I’m sorry to call you in on your day off.”

“Good morning, Cassie.” He said brightly stepping up to the counter and hands her one of the cups, which she takes gratefully, “It’s really no problem. I planned to study all day today, and I can do that at home, or here and make a bit extra for my trip over Christmas break.”

Taking a much needed sip of hot coffee, Cassie set the cup down and gathered up the books to clear up the counter for customers, and teased, “You know the summer time is supposed to be for fun, not school, right?”

“I want a jump on next semester, and working here is where I have the most fun. Learning from you about spells and the supernatural, meeting all kinds of cool people who come in to shop and browse. I don’t need much else.”

“Well, then, if you’d do me an extra favor, I’ll add on a bonus for your time today.”

Intrigued, Davis sips at his coffee, “Really? Of course! What is it?”

Tapping the pile of books she’d pulled, “I’m not sure what I’m looking for is going to be found in these mass published books. I sell them for the customers but sometimes they frustrate me with the novices of the authors. Still, there could be some treasures in there. If you’d take some time during your studies to look through our inventory, I need information on memory spells. Whatever you fine, pull those books out of inventory and stack them in my office. I’m going to go out for a few hours and visit a couple of my friends for their advice.”

“Gladly. Memory spells. Anything else?”

Thinking, Cassie nodded, tapping the counter, “Yes. For today everything in this case is not for sale.”

Davis nodded and they switched sides, with Cassie picking up her coffee, “How much do I owe you?”

“It’s on me, Cassie, but maybe bring something for lunch later?”

“You got a deal.” Cassie smirked and with a final goodbye, left the shop by way of the side door to go collect her purse and shawl out of her apartment. Davis immediately got started on the favor Cassie had asked for. His studies could wait. He’d never seen her this intense about research, and he wanted to help as much as he could.

.

.

.

Angel and Charlotte spent the morning and afternoon exploring the French Quarter on foot, taking in various shops and sights. He treated her to lunch, took her on a stroll down the river and the entire time couldn’t really take his eyes of of her. The way she moved in her sundress, her mood so vastly improved, genuinely excited by the different things he showed her gave her a glow that he’d only seen a couple of times before. She also wasn’t shy with him like before and took his hand and firmly held it as they walked the cobblestone sidewalks along the stores. He loved the feel of her hand gripping his and fresh regret nudged him, but he pushed it away. He was going to share in her good feelings, today. He joked with her, enjoyed her excitement at discovering what all the area had to offer and let all of his worries slip away for once.

As the day grew long, the pair was back walking along the river towards Jackson Square, moving among the bustling crowd, they stopped next to the Moonwalk monument and Angel checked his watch, “It’s almost six. We should start heading back.”

Charlotte nodded, having gone quiet. He looked at her, “Is something wrong?”

Shaking her head, Charlotte looked to her left towards the river and saw a wooden staircase that went to the water’s edge. Silently, she tugged at Angel’s hand to follow her and she led him down the stairs to the waters edge.

“Charlotte?”

She turned, and looked him with determined eyes, and slightly quivering lips “Angel. I’ve been thinking. I want you to know I forgive you for what happened the other night. You’re right. We need to know more about me. But I suffered last night, sleeping alone, and even if we can’t be together in that way, I don’t want to feel the way I felt last night, ever again.”

Stepping close to Angel, Charlotte pressed her forehead against his, their noses touching and she felt his body go still, and she whispered, “Will you please sleep with me tonight. Every night. I miss you.”

She felt his hands grasp her shoulders softly, his warm breath tickling her lips, they were so close and she wanted desperately to taste them. She felt his head move back and she silently pouted. Angel’s fingers lift her chin up to look him in the eyes, and she saw the softest, gentlest smile he’d shared with her. “I’d be honored.”

The moment was frozen in time for them, and with her chin nestled in his fingers, Angel leaned in and they shared a gentle kiss, soft and chaste but full of feeling. When they broke the kiss, Angel saw that her eyes were wet and he drew his fingers along under her lids, wiping them dry. Charlotte pressed her cheek into one of his palms, putting her hand over his. “I was so scared. I didn’t want to push you away, but I couldn’t hold it in, either.”

“Charlotte, I wanted to tell you how much I’ve grown fond of you over the past few months, how much you mean to me, but I held back because of all the mystery surrounding you. I wish we knew more, because I want to be with you, too.”

His admission made Charlotte’s heart swell and she sniffed fresh tears, pulling on Angel’s hand to guide him up the stares, “Then let’s go find out what Cassie’s learned!”

Angel let her lead him, impatiently, through the crowds and streets on the way back to his sister’s shop.

 

.

.

 

Cassie stepped back into her shop about twenty minutes before five o’clock, having made the rounds vising her closest friends in the witching community. She’d learned a lot in a few hours, most of which was not as helpful as she’d hoped, but it eliminated some options. Her mind was jumbled, mixed with a personal need to help Charlotte and an insane amount of curiosity about her. Cassie never thought she’d meet a demon in her lifetime, as most were known to be called for nefarious reasons. She did wonder if Charlotte was called up in a summoning ritual, and if so, by whom and why did it fail?

Frustrated with the tangled web of ideas, Cassie knew she needed to clear her thought so she could focus better. Indicating with a head nod to Davis that she was going upstairs, Cassie stepped out of the shop into hallway leading up to her apartment. She unlocked the door and stepped in and kicked off her shoes, pushing them under the small end table by the door. She opened the closet door next to the table and reached in for a pair of cotton shoes and slipped them on. She stood and picked up one of her oak-wood BO staffs. Re-locking the door she went to the stairway leading to the roof.

Opening the door to the roof, Cassie stepped out and inhaled the air deeply, letting it blow out between pursed lips and walked into the middle of the roof. Makeshift walls had been erected with oriental designs, allowing her privacy from the surrounding neighbors while also giving her room to practice. A clothesline to one side moved in the wind with some various items hanging from it that Cassie had yet to collect.

Taking a stance and gripping the pole in her right hand, the 6ft pole planted to the floor by her right foot, Cassie closed her eyes and than began to move. She loved Tai Chi. It not only calmed her, but it went well with her mystical powers, providing focus and meditation. She lifted the pole and let it drop into her free palm, and started to ‘dance’ rhythmically while taking slow, wide swings, stepping and forward then back, turning 180 with a low sweep of the pole, imagining a slow motion ‘battle’ with an invisible opponent. She dropped the end of the pole, shifting her weight and lifting the pole up, letting the shaft slide through her fingers and jabbed backwards. She continued various movements, mimicking both offensive and defensive stances for a full thirty minutes, most of the time with her eyes closed, and let her mind drift away from all thought.

Coming to a stop, she held the BO back in a starting position and let her breath come back to her. The workout had helped for the most part, and she appreciated the calmer feeling, but she knew it was time to get back to work. She’d ask Davis if he found any information, and then look into the crystals. Perhaps they would give her some ideas. Moving from the roof, Cassie decided a quick shower and then back to the store to help Davis close up would be best. By the time she finished up those tasks and got Davis’s opinion on the crystals, it would be close to six and Angel and Charlotte would be due home..

.

.

The door chimed to announce Angel and Charlotte arriving into the shop. Cassie was handing Davis his bonus and thanking him when they’d arrived. She quickly introduced Davis to her brother and Charlotte and then ushered him out. Once he’d left, she locked the door and turned, her bright smile having faded.

“Before you ask. No, I didn’t have a lot of luck today.”

Shoulders falling, Charlotte looked at Angel sadly. Angel nodded, “You tried your best, sis.”

“Don’t say that like I’ve given up. I honestly did not expect to find all the answers in the first day. This is new territory for me. The books here are not the best resources, and my witchy friends didn’t know that much about demon summoning. It’s not exactly an area to be teased. So, I figured I’d next look into crystals.”

Cassie walked past the pair and went behind the counter and opened the back. She reached in and pulled out a tray of amulets and crystals, the ones she told Davis not to sell. She pointed to them and explained, “Crystals have power. Most don’t know how to really call upon it, only admiring the beauty and ideas of what they are. But those who are attuned to nature, the natural and super natural.. those who know the world has more in it than the naked eye sees. These crystals hold real power.”

She pointed to a few of them and explained the various crystal types, and then the amulets. “Amulets, charms and trinkets can be worn with imbued crystals for the wearer to utilize. Now, it’s Important to understand that using any power, spell or incantation has consequences if they’re used with ill intentions. This is why some become corrupted.”

She picked up a white crystal with stalagmite protruding from it, “This is barite. It helps with wisdom and mental awareness, as well as enhancing memory through cleansing. If you have a lot of negative energy stored, accessing and retaining your memories becomes difficult. This has gentle, soft cleansing of the chakra, breaking down the barriers hiding your deepest memories.”

Handing the crystal to Charlotte, Cassie warns, “It’s not a quick fix, though. It can take time, but I want you to keep it on your person at all times, okay? As we look into ways to break those walls down, it will help the process.”

Flipping the crystal in her hands, Charlotte smiles softly, “Thank you, Cassie. I’ll cherish it!”

Smiling back, Charlotte explains a few of the other crystals, and selects a hematite for Charlotte to hold onto that will help with focus and drain toxic emotions and negative energies. “While they say you can mix multiple crystals, that’s mostly for the common folk. Knowing their true power, it’s never good to go past two, maybe three. So we’ll start here. Tomorrow, I'll commune with the Frequencies for more advice.”

“You’ve done a lot today, sis. Why don’t we take a break and go out to dinner?”

“Good idea. I forgot to text you today so we can all go shopping and pick out things we all like.. in the vegetarian area, that is.” Cassie smirked at Charlotte, who nodded back and the three went upstairs to get ready to go out..

.

.

That night after a fine dinner, shopping and laughs, and Cassie taking a few pictures of each of them, including some very sweet pics of Angel and Charlotte flirting, they returned to the apartment. Charlotte told Cassie she’d had the talk with Angel and Cassie clapped Angel on the back for not screwing this one up. Angel just gave her a playful dirty look, but allowed a chuckle of his own. Cassie told them she’d had a mid-day shower so she’s off to bed, and for them to enjoy themselves. Charlotte blushed and Angel tskd at his sister, who smiled and shut her bedroom door, giving him a raspberry pff as she did.

Angel felt Charlotte’s hand take his and he looked at her, with her soft smile greeting him, “Will you join me, my Knight?”

Angel nodded, “Yes, your highness.”

The pair walked down the hallway and into Charlotte’s bedroom. Charlotte was happy, even though they couldn’t make love, she could hold him for the first time, tonight, all night and she knew he felt the same way about her. For a flash of a moment, she worried that if she regained her true self if she would lose him, but that flash faded as fast as it came. Tonight, she would dream wonders just as Cassie said.

What neither of them knew in that moment was that tonight would be their last night of happiness.

Chapter 12: The Devil's in the Details

The Devil is in the Details - Anonymous 1963 (Unconfirmed)

*************************************************************

 

Dawn had yet to come, but Cassie Collins was wide awake. Having made a pot of strong coffee and taking the whole pot back to her bedroom, Cassie moved to the corner of her room where she kept what she referred to as “The Frequencies”, an array of ham radios, police scanners and CB radios that she used to communicate with her own sources around the whole East Coast through the middle states of America that she'd collected from since her military days as a communications officer. These sources worked in coordination with other trackers and bounty hunters, not just for searching for lost children but all sorts of missing people. Most did it for the reward money, but they still gave her a lot of good information, and she returned the favor whenever she could. Still, she asked them to send her only info on the serious dangers, that needed someone who wasn’t afraid to push the law, or break it, to rescue those in danger.

Yet, it was more than just this set up that she relied on. She never did tell her brother but sometimes, some of the information she got wasn’t by voices over the radios, but from a more ‘mystical’ means. She looked over to her altar, one she had set up shortly after having a vision that connected to a report she’d received from a friend up north.. that led to Angel’s first rescue. Cassie had been a little nervous about it, as her powers had been growing unusually fast and strong. She tempered it by staying connected to the ‘real world’ of communicating via the machines, but she wondered at times if she should nurture her inner power more. Those thoughts had been pestering her since meeting Charlotte. Up to then knowing that demons existed, was not the same as meeting one.

And then there was her computer, that she filed the reports to, so that she could trace any links between missions Angel finished to find if there was a common denominator. But the computer would serve another purpose this morning. Her thoughts were focused on that nagging tug at the back of her mind about how Charlotte arrived on Earth to begin with. If she was going to help Charlotte jog her memories, it seemed wise to find the answer to that question, first.

Typing in her password, Cassie launched her discord server for witchcraft servers and scrolled to ones that discussed summoning spirits and other entities. She scrolled for some twenty minutes, while sipping her coffee and periodically entered a chat to see if there’d been any talk about failed summonings, especially in Virginia. Finding one chat line, she entered and typed in a basic query asking about Virginia. Yawning and frustrated at the lack of results or even leads, she sat back and stretched, closing her eyes for a moment when her computer beeped and she leaned forward. A private window had popped up.

“You’re looking for information on a failed summoning in Virginia, correct?” - Anonymous.

Cassie straightened up and typed back: “Yes! Around six months ago. I’ve been trying to find anything on Google with zero luck.”

A moment’s pause and a response appeared: “You won’t. Our local coven made sure that any link to the summoning would be kept out of the news.”

Cassie felt her body tense, and replied: “Can you tell me what happened?”

Silence, and Cassie was about to follow up when: “Why do you want to know? I only replied because your request was suspicious.”

Cassie understood the caution, and went for broke: “The summoning wasn’t a failure.”

A long pause, and now Cassie was worried she’d scared the person off, but finally: “That isn’t possible.”

Pressing forward, Cassie dished it out: “I know the demon that was summoned. I’ve seen it and it’s unlike any demon that’s been written or tales told about. It has lost it’s memories. I don’t know why, or how, but whomever summoned this demon, summoned something.. different. What was the summoner trying to call?”

The response was much quicker this time: “If you’re telling the truth, you need to get away from that thing as fast as you can!”

Cassie clicked the keyboard: “Why!?”

The words that appeared on her screen next sent chills down Cassie’s spine: “The summoner was a stupid teenager who wanted to impress some friends and nearly lost his life in the process. He didn’t just try to call up a demon. He tried summoning Lucifer, himself.”

Heart beating fast, Cassie’s fingers spun out her next words, frantically: “Are you telling me that the demon that was pulled from hell? That has lost it’s memories? Is the Devil!?”

One word appeared: “Yes!”

Cassie sat back in her chair, and for the first time since her military days in the field, felt real fear. It couldn’t be. She felt no evil from Charlotte, only pureness. She leaned forward, and typed: “Lucifer was a fallen angel, right? Not a demon? Could that have affected the summoning?”

The reply came: “There’s no precedence that I’ve heard of for summoning an angel. But I do know if you don’t perform the summoning exactly right, and you don’t call the demon’s full name upon the summoning to control it, it can definitely escape into the real world. If this thing you’ve seen isn’t a demon, but something else.. that fuck up would have absolutely caused it to enter our world, uncontrolled and if it didn’t understand it was being summoned… maybe it could have affected it’s memory. I’m only guessing. There’s nothing in anything I’ve ever read to cover this.”

Cassie: “What happens if it regains its memories?”

Anonymous: “Again, there’s nothing on record about summoning Lucifer or an angel. But what do you think it would mean if Lucifer, or something kin to Lucifer, were to regain it’s full power, free of control of a summoner, and loose on Earth?”

Hands trembling, Cassie had to retype a couple of times: “Can a loose demon be captured, controlled, subdued?”

Anonymous: “Actually, yes. One, you’d need to know the devil’s full name and when it comes to Lucifer and the stories, there are two names out there that our community has debated for decades. Mange and Morningstar.”

Cassie: “What’s two?”

Anonymous: “Blood. Doesn’t need to be a virgin’s blood unlike the stories, though virgin blood is strongest. Finally, you’d need a talisman of some sort. Something to focus your power as the summoner to keep the demon in check so it doesn’t kill you.”

Cassie: “If the demon hears it’s name when it’s not in control?”

Anonymous: “You’ll have it’s full, undivided attention, and you don’t want that.”

Cassie: “But could it trigger memory?”

Anonymous: “I don’t know. But if you plan to test this against the demon you saw, I would not recommend trying without the blood, talisman and summoning circle, or it could be your death.”

Cassie couldn’t think of any more questions, as she was already decided on a course of action: “Thank you so much for your help.”

Anonymous: “Be careful. If Lucifer is on Earth, it could be the beginning of the end.”

Cassie acknowledged the concern, and clicked the exit button and leaned back in her chair, putting a hand over her face and breathing slowly. Charlotte wasn’t a demon, at all. She was something entirely different. Something far more powerful. A fallen angel? Lucifer? Lucifer’s kin? Could Lucifer have had a daughter? And if she was summoned to Earth, being of Lucifer’s blood would have messed up the summoning for sure. Stupid kids playing with things they don’t understand, and for what? Likes on social media? That pissed off Cassie a lot.

Still, she didn’t know what to think other than that she had this deep, powerful gut feeling that her first sense of Charlotte was real and accurate. She wasn’t evil and she wouldn’t turn on Angel if her memories returned. She had to believe this to be true. She encouraged them to fall in love, for God’s sake! Rolling the names in her head, Cassie let each pass her lips in a whisper, “Charlotte Mange. Charlotte Morningstar.”

For decades, Cassie Collins prided herself on her wits, creativity and cautiousness.

In the next few minutes she was going to throw all of that aside and take a leap of faith. It was time to go find out if she had the daughter of Lucifer in her apartment.

 

 

 

 

Notes:

A short chapter just in case I can't get more done this weekend. This chapter consists of fleshing out just 2 bullet points of 18 that was originally going to be chapter 12. If this keeps up, the next 16 bullet points will birth 1-2 more full chapters. I'm loving how this story is growing and adding more to the lore. Thank you for following along!

Chapter 13: I'm Charlotte Morningstar; Princess of Hell!

Eyes closed and laying her head on Angel’s cotton T-shirt covered chest, Charlotte listened with her keen hearing to his steady heart beating slowly as he slept, truly content and at peace for the first time that she could recall. She traced a finger up and down his arm, admiring his body and curiously examining the various scars he’d acquired over time. Perhaps one day he’d share the stories, and she looked forward to a life spent with him, once she regained her true self. Charlotte couldn’t remember any dreams she’d had, even with the crystals nestled under her pillow, but she only felt comfort and safety from the long night’s rest. They would come in time, she was sure of it.

Her gentle touches stirred Angel from his sleep and he opened his eyes slowly, peering down at the pool of messy blonde hair that covered his neck and chest, feeling Charlotte’s head pressed to him and her fingers tracing his arm. “Good morning.”

The waves of blonde hair shifted and piercing black eyes looked up through the strands, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. We should be getting a move on soon, anyway.” Angel shifted a bit and Charlotte lifted her head and turned her body to snuggle up to him, her face now closer to his. He felt her soft warm breath against his cheek and turned his face to hers. Silently they both moved the last few inches and shared a soft kiss. Angel was surprised when she broke away, first.

“I must behave.” She simply said, her voice mixed with humor and regret.

Angel slipped his fingers through her locks of hair, feeling how soft and full it all felt, and was still amazed at how it all turned black and menacing in her demon form. Yet, the thought did not make him uncomfortable or concerned and it only added to his own regret for how he treated her a few nights ago. He’d agreed to share a bed with her partly to make up for that regret, but for his own personal longing to be with her. Worry found it’s way into his thoughts on if that was ever going to be possible, but all he said aloud was “For now.”

She smiled at him, about to tease something when they heard a firm knock at the bedroom door.

“Are you two awake?” Cassie’s voice flowed through the door and the tone of her voice caught both of their attention. Charlotte sat up in the bed, allowing Angel to slip off the blanket and turn to put his feet on the cold wooden floor.

“Yes. What is it, sis?”

“We need to talk. Now.”

They heard Cassie walk off, and looked at each other with concern, Charlotte’s eyes nervous, “She sounds scared.”

Angel nodded, “Yeah, and that’s not like her.”

He stood, and reached for his jeans, “I’ll go change in the bathroom, give you some privacy.”

Charlotte nodded. They’d slept in decent night clothes and both had the same idea not to tease each other with nudity, so changing would be a private affair for now. Angel left the room and Charlotte lifted her nightgown over her head and let it fall to the bed, and opened the dresser by the bed. Selecting a comfortable sports bra and her favorite black t-shirt to wear, She decided since it had been humid and hot the last few days, she’d try out one of the skirts that Cassie had left for her. She’d clean up later, once they listened to what Cassie had to say.

Dressed, she pulled on the same black crocs she’d been so accustomed to wear that Angel had given her the first night and stepped out of the bedroom at the same time Angel came from the bathroom. She heard the toilet filling and indicated it was her turn. Angel said he’d be in the kitchen.

 

 

In the kitchen, Cassie started brewing another pot of strong black coffee while setting some various fruits they’d picked up last night in the center of the table and sat down, her mind racing. She looked up as Angel appeared from the hallway, his face serious, “Okay, sis. What’s going on?”

“Where’s Charlie?”

“Bathroom.”

“Do you want some coffee?”

“Sis, something’s bothering you, just tell me.”

Shaking her head, Cassie stood to grab two cups for herself and Angel, while also grabbing a cold water bottle from the fridge, “I thought about telling you alone, but for what I need to do, Charlotte and you both need to be prepared.”

Realizing she was going to do this on her terms, Angel leaned back in the chair and accepted the cup of coffee Cassie handed him. A moment later, Charlotte stepped into the kitchen, “I heard you, Cassie. Prepared for what?”

Indicating for Charlotte to take a seat, Cassie retook her own, setting her cup down and handing Charlotte the water, “OK, soooo...I couldn’t sleep this morning so I started researching some ideas I had after yesterday, concerning how Charlotte got here. My biggest concern had to do with the fact that demons don’t just come to Earth, they need to be summoned.”

“Are you saying I was summoned here?” Charlotte’s concerned eyes darted between them.

“I connected with someone on one of the witchcraft servers this morning,” And Cassie laid out all that she had learned, about the failed summoning, the teen nearly dying from the botched attempted and that it may have something to do with the fact Charlotte may not be a demon, at all. She also laid out the fact that the failed summoning is likely why Charlotte lost all of her memories, as she was torn away from hell but didn’t land in a summoning circle and bound by the summoner. How she ended up in the woods, thought, was another mystery she had yet to work out.

“What?” Charlotte blinked in surprise, “But… my powers? What I look like? Teeth. Claws. What else could I be?”

Taking a breath, Cassie spelled it out, “From what I was told, that kid wasn’t trying to summon just any demon from hell. He was trying to summon the Devil itself; Lucifer.”

“Shit.” Angel whispered.

“No.” Charlotte shook her head, “Lucifer is a fallen angel, right? That’s what you’ve told me, right Angel? A fallen angel from heaven, and not female. So that can’t be me.”

“No, “Cassie agreed, “But as we’ve been discovering, things written in history haven’t exactly been playing out by the script. What if Lucifer had children? More specifically, a daughter?”

“How do we prove this?” Angel straightened up, getting to the point.

“I don’t want to know!” Charlotte pushed back her chair and stood, “If I’m kin to the devil, I don’t want to know!”

“Sweetie, “Cassie began but Charlotte shook her head.

“No! No! If it’s true…” She looked at Angel, face stricken, “I could never stay on Earth! He would come looking for me, wouldn’t he? If he’s what you say he is? I’d have to run… hide.. or everyone I love would…. “

Charlotte started crying, unable to finish her morbid thought. Angel pushed back his chair and rose, taking the three steps necessary to wrap his arms around Charlotte, “Listen to me! Cassie said she didn’t sense anything evil in you. Even if you’re Lucifer’s child, you’re not bound by the stories. You’ve proven that, already and perhaps neither is Lucifer what we think he is. But, we need to know, we need to get your memories back.”

Shaking her head against Angel’s chest, she looks up at him with eyes blurred in tears, “If I refuse to find out who I am, I can’t have you! If I find out I’m Lucifer’s spawn, I can’t have you! Angel… I don’t know what to do!”

Sobbing, Charlotte broke away from Angel and fell against the wall. Angel looked at his sister, and for one of the few times in his life, had no idea what to do, or to say. No amount of strategy would work here.

Cassie stood at this point and spoke loud and firm, taking the chance she’d fought in her soul about for the last hour and only now having decided, “CHARLOTTE MANGE!”

Sniffing and wiping her nose, Charlotte looked at Cassie, “What?”

Sensing nothing at all, Cassie said even louder and with power, “CHARLOTTE MORNINGSTAR!!”

The air in the kitchen changed, and Charlotte stood up straight, wiping her tears away from eyes that were different than Angel had ever seen. Instead of black irises, they were red but her sclera glowed a light yellow, and Charlotte’s frame and stance looked almost impreceptively different. However, it was the way she looked at both Angel and Cassie that had their attention fixed on her.

“I know that name.” Charlotte cracked her neck, energy flowing off of her in ways Angel had not seen before, and smiled softly. Not at all menacingly, but as if recalling fond memories, and both Cassie and Angel saw subtle fangs peak out as Charlotte licked her lips which had taken on a black tint. She looked at them both, and bit her lip gently, “Sorry. I’m just feeling… new?”

“Do you remember?” Angel took a step forward and Charlotte held out her hand for him to take.

Shaking her head, Charlotte didn’t seem upset about it, as there was a subtle difference in her whole character, now. “No. not specifically. I know that Morningstar sounds familiar, though. I still don’t know all of who I am, but what I am feeling is.. .a sense of calmness, like it’s all just under the surface. Not lost like it was, but.. still out of reach.”

She looked to them both, a genuine warmth of a smile bright, “But I do feel.. like you’re right, Cassie. If I am Charlotte Morningstar, I’m not a monster. Oh.. my.. Gosh.”

She stops, and looks at Angel with a sense of understanding, gripping his hands in hers “I’m not a monster, Angel. I know it. I can feel it! I’ve never hurt anyone, even in hell.. I mean, I can’t explain it.. I can’t.. but I know it.”

Angel smiles in return, gripping her hands back but Cassie coughs in a way that doesn’t sound good to them, and they look her way. “I believe you, sweetie, but we still have a major issue. The summoning tried to call on Lucifer to rise from hell, but apparently because you’re of blood kin it reached you, first. Do you have any idea why, or how?”

Charlotte closed her new eyes and thought hard, trying to pull memories out from under the darkness in the back of her mind. The air’s quiet as they wait on her, watching her stand still with her eyes closed, head bent down. After a full minute, Charlotte opens her eyes, looking up, “All I feel is that I was swallowed up by blackness…. Like I was pulled into something? It’s still buried, I’m sorry.”

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Cassie rubbed her temple, “We do need to tread lightly, here. But let’s cover the facts. One, it appears that Charlie is Lucifer’s daughter.”

“Charlotte.” Came a quiet, but firm reminder, which caused Cassie to smirk again.

“Sorry. Charlotte. Two, calling you by your full name elicited a response from you. Your eyes, lips and teeth have changed. You’re still human but ‘more’, now.”

Lifting her hand to her mouth, Charlotte realized what Cassie meant and looked to Angel, “What changed about my eyes?”

Angel smiled, “They’re amazing. You can check the mirror in the bathroom in a few.”

“Three, this means that what I learned about early this morning says you could be contained if someone discovered who and what you are, “Cassie sighed, “And that’s the biggest fear I have, here.”

“No one knows who I am, though, except you two, right?”

“Shit.” Cassie swore under her breath and saw the pair’s reaction, “In the process of learning about you, I let it slip that I’d seen you. The coven in Virginia knows you exist.”

“Do you think they’ll come looking?” Angel asked.

“I doubt they’d be able too. I didn’t give away where I was from and I’d never been on that server before, nor do I list my personal information on-line. Still, covens are resourceful, and they don’t know you like we do, sweetie… and I’d doubt we’d be able to convince them, otherwise. I think the best thing to do for now is to stay down and out of sight. Until we can get all your memories back.”

“I’m not going to stop rescuing the helpless, Cassie. I don’t care if I’m Lucifer’s kid, or if one day I have to return to hell.” She stops, the idea of it causing her grief at the thought of losing Angel, but presses on, “I have these powers, and I’ll be damned if I don’t do everything I can with them.”

“And I’m not going to try to stop her, sis.” Angel added, squeezing Charlotte’s hand in unity.

“Yeah. Didn’t think so.” Cassie shrugged with an accepting smile, “And honestly I’m glad you feel that way cause it just reaffirms to me that you’re much more than kin to the Devil. I have an idea but I need to do more research on it. For the time being, knowing what we know now, I suggest keeping the crystals on you at all times and try to remember what you can.”

Charlotte stepped into Angel’s arms. She felt his firm embrace tell her he was okay with this new information, but she still needed to ask because she knew what it could mean, “If I am... What I am…”

Cassie took this cue to leave the kitchen for them to be alone, and Angel nodded gratefully as she left the apartment to go down to her shop.

Angel sighed, “It was something we’d both knew could happen, and not to make a joke out of it, really, but if there’s ONE father I’d never want to piss off by hurting his daughter in any way…”

Laying her hands on his cheeks, Charlotte pulled Angel into a real, deep and meaningful kiss, one in which he accepted and returned, and when she broke it, she said in a low voice, “You have never hurt me, my Knight. Only reminded me that I am something different. I accept this. I accept whatever future happens, so long as I am by your side for as long as I can be. I’m not stupid, I am not naive, and I refuse to be scared anymore. I believe I’m meant to be here, dammit, and I am forever grateful that I get to be your partner.”

Tasting her kiss on his lips, Angel pressed his forehead to hers, and she reciprocated, comforted by the feeling, “And I will be your shelter. I won’t let anyone find you or hurt you, but I won’t stop you or hold you back from being what you need to be, to fight at my side.”

“Thank you. Cassie did the right thing by giving me back my true name. I know it could mean my time on Earth is short, but no matter who I am, or what happens in the future,” Charlie paused, swallowing once to find bravery in her next words, “I know ‘us’ has to wait. So, I’ll focus on what’s most important right now. To save those in need, and I’m at peace with this.”

Angel lifted her chin, and her eyes glistened. She gave him a brave smile, while putting a finger to his lips to silence anything he was about to say. With a sad nod, Angel stepped back and let Charlotte ease out his embrace, possibly for the last time. She held her arms in her hands and looked at him, sideways, thinking the same thing, but asked. “Now what do we do?”

And as if on cue, Angel’s phone rang.

 

Notes:

I had a long debate on whether or not hearing her full name would have any affect, but Charlie's powers have been growing and so it seemed wise that this was the way to go, giving her some foundation to stand on with the knowledge of who she is, even if she can't remember anything, yet. Having an idea of who she is meant to be will help her call upon even more gifts as she continues to find herself, grow and fight along Angel's side.

I also apologize when I said at the end of Act one that the slow burn was over... I know I've dragged this out more than I anticipated by I've been enjoying spending time with Angel, Charlie and Cassie as they discover what brought Charlie to Earth. It also means that there will be a revision to the telling of Charlie's actions in hell in the past, as the story changed course as it grew.

I wrote a note that the next chapter would begin the action but .. I lied. I had one more thing to do for before things got ugly, but I loved how the next chapter ended to not go one more build up :)

Chapter 14: From now on, call me Charlie.

Having left Angel and Charlotte to themselves to decide how they were going to work out their relationship, Cassie went down to her shop with a singular reason. Opening the door from the hallway, she entered and saw all the lights were on and Davis was counting the till. Was it that late, already?

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry I’m late. I was distracted.”

Davis chuckled, “It’s all good, I got in early so I could restock the books we took out yesterday.”

Cassie shook her head, “What would I ever do without you?”

“Well, you got two more years of school to figure that out.” Davis winked with a laugh, “New Orleans is lovely, but I’m dead set on California.”

“Noted and bummed.” Cassie winked as she stepped around the glass counter and pulled the crystal and amulet tray out for a second time, “I shall try not to rely on you too much. But for today, can you mind the store? I have a few more important personal items to take care of.”

“Rely away, Cassie, but yes, I got it covered.” Davis gave a playful bow and went off to restock. Cassie took a moment to look at his retreating form, and honestly hoped he’d find a good woman, or man.. whatever he wanted. Kid had a bright future. Looking over the collection she’d pulled out, her eyes narrowed on a particularly rare amulet she’d been lucky to procure just a few months earlier, one with a special history and now she was thankful it had not sold. She lifted off the display and placed it around her neck, clasping it together and she immediately felt power. Yes, this was no ordinary trinket. She replaced the display and locked the case and went into the storage room to collect the items she’d need. If her idea had merit, maybe she could give Charlotte an edge.

 

 

 

Angel looked at the caller ID and took a long breath. Charlotte tilted her head, “Who is it?”

Holding his hand up to ask for quiet, he pushed the answer button, “Hey, Amanda. What’s up?”

Amanda Sims, Angel’s ex-gf. Charlotte had the very briefest itch of jealousy but it passed quickly as she could hear Amanda’s voice and it was all business, “Angel, I’m glad you didn’t let this go to voice mail. I need your help.”

Angel picked up on the tone as well and didn’t mince words, “Details.”

“I’m in New Orleans on assignment with the local office. We’re tracking separate incoming ‘shipments’ of girls that the Crime-lord Bible is gathering to ship off over seas. I’m going against direct orders contacting you but I’m feeling really uneasy with the reports we’ve gotten and I could really use your help. Off the record and undercover, this time though, similar to your days in the field because if you get caught, it could be both of our asses. But there’s a report of twelve girls in total and I’m not risking it for a pissing contest with the director, here. If you’re willing to help me out, how fast can you get here?”

“I’m here, already.”

“Really?” Amanda’s surprised voice turns into a soft chuckle, “You’re visiting your sister, aren’t you? I forgot she ran a shop here.”

“Exactly, and yes, I’m in. What can you tell me?”

“Nothing right now, I have to meet with others to set up our canvasing grid this afternoon. It ends at five, so I can meet you at six. But Angel, if you go out today, try to stay incognito, if the Director sees you, he’s going to know I called you.”

“Understood, and Amanda?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for trusting me with this. I promise not to be seen unless it risks the safety of the girls.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do otherwise. I’ll see you at six.”

The phone went silent and Angel pocketed it and looked at Charlotte, “I know you’re up to doing this, but I still gotta ask.” He let the last word trail off and Charlotte nodded.

“Fuck, yes we’re doing this. Twelve girls? Who is this… Bible?” The last word came out like a curse.

“An enigma, really. No one has any photo or video evidence of him. He mostly operates outside of the US, and up until now, I thought he dealt exclusively in drugs, weapons, contraband, and other nontrafficking shit. It’s why I’ve never crossed paths with him. It also means that I have a lot of research to do before meeting with Amanda tonight.”

“I heard what she said. They’re searching grid patterns today, to see if they can find where the girls are being held, right?”

“Yes.” Angel heard the tone in Charlotte’s voice and answered her before she could ask, “And yes, you can go scout, fully invisible, of course. But I need you to promise me something, and it’s not an easy promise to make.”

“You don’t want me taking action if I find the girls. I already know you, well, My knight, and just as you promised Amanda.. as long as the girls are not in immediate danger, I will return here, to you, first.”

Angel nodded, impressed and Charlotte continued, “Something is different with me, now, Angel. My head feels so much clearer. I may not remember my past, but I feel like I’ve found myself, my soul. Thanks to Cassie calling me by name. I know this is how I’d be even with my memories. I don’t feel lost, anymore… even if my beginning is six months ago and not hundreds of years ago.”

“Hundreds?” Angel’s expression was of surprise.

“Another thing I can’t explain, like my magic, but I’m much older than you, this I know. I.. I hope you’re attracted to older women?”

“I’m attracted to you, Charlotte. Period.”

Warmth flushed Charlotte’s cheeks, but she had to say what she felt, “I’m attracted to you, too, Angel, but we need to put that away. I’m the partner you accepted six months ago, and the children are my focus. Are you okay with this?”

She added the last part with a hopeful gentleness, to ensure Angel she wasn’t shutting down, only dedicating herself to what was needed, now, and he nodded and took her hand and gave it a chaste kiss, “Yes, Your Highness.”

“I didn’t realize how accurate that was, until now.” Charlotte whimsied with a lopsided grin. Angel chuckled as the meaning occurred to him, too, and turned as Cassie came back into the apartment. She looked at both of them with a curious look.

“Something’s happened?”

“Yes, Amanda called. We have a mission right here in New Orleans, and it’s more serious than the past.”

“Fill me in after I do this.” Cassie said and the two watched as she took the amulet off and stepped up to Charlotte, “This is my final gift to you, Charlotte Morningstar, and I want you to wear it at all times, under your clothing. Will you do this for me?”

Charlotte looked at the amulet as Cassie placed it in her palm. A semi-transparent crystal about the size of a 50mm marble but egg-shaped, embraced by four pewter snapdragon flower vines wrapping from the top down four equal distances around the orb and tangling at the bottom with a small vial that had a fresh snapdragon flower encased in it. Charlotte looked up at Cassie with sparkling red eyes, her yellow orbs glowing, “It’s beautiful. What is it for?”

“Protection,” Cassie half answered, “It should help on the off chance that anyone comes a-calling to try to bind you. The crystal can absorb your energy, hold some of it, and return it to you if you feel your control slipping. The snapdragons offer protection from magics. Like the crystals, it’s not a perfect solution and there are some magics out there that are stronger, but this should help.”

Clipping the clasp behind her neck and slipping the amulet inside her black cotton T-shirt, Charlotte pulled Cassie into an embrace that startled Cassie at first, but she wrapped her arms around Charlotte, “Thank you so much, Cassie! I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you as my dear friend.”

“And I trust you. I’ve trusted you from the first moment I met you, even if it took some time for my conscious self to realize it and I am honored to be blessed with your friendship, Charlie.”

Pulling her head back, Charlotte let her red eyes glow in frustrated annoyance, “Why do you insist on calling me Charlie?”

Angel spoke up to answer, having watched the embrace with a warm feeling he needed after all that happened, “It’s the same reason she gets to call me Kevin when all others address me as Angel. Except you, you’ve always been welcome to call me Kevin, I just never corrected you, letting you choose when.”

Cassie nodded, and stepped back to offer Charlotte a small bow, “My name is Cassandra Elizabeth Collins. It’s the name those I work with on the Frequencies know me as. It’s how I conduct business with those I’ve yet to know. It’s my wall, something that as I grew up and developing my powers I realized I needed. But my friends? The ones I care for? Love?”

With that word, she brushed a stray hair out of Charlotte’s face, “They get to see my soul, the real me, the exposed me. When I first met you, I felt the real you, and I knew you were special, and Charlie just slipped out. I’m sorry for offending you, but I admit I had a little fun with your reaction. Please forgive me?”

“It’s just that, “Charlotte sighed, “It was the first thing I remembered when Angel found me, and it was the only thing I had to hold onto and I couldn’t lose it.”

“Then, from this moment on, I will address you as Charlotte.” Cassie bowed her head again.

“I don’t like the bows, Cassie, I don’t care if I am the Princess of Hell. My friends will never bow to me. So, please do me two favors, both of you?”

Angel and Cassie came to stand together and in unison said, “Anything.”

“One, never bow to me again, please. We’re a team, okay?”

“Deal,” Both said, and Angel asked, “And the other, Charlotte?”

Charlotte turned away for a moment, her cheeks blushing hot, then looked over her shoulder at the siblings, with a cute smile meant equally for both of them.

“From now on, call me Charlie?”

 

 

 

 

Notes:

Okay. I semi-promise. Action from here on out.

Some mini-spoilers to get you anticipating what's to come.

Charlie will gain even more power and it will be necessary as she will soon face something her equal.

Angel's past WILL be revealed, even if I have to fake it... unless someone wants to help write a military short story? I wouldn't ask but.. it's what's slowing me down :(

Clues, plot points and call backs, galore.

Stay...tuned!

Chapter 15: Searching for the Children

The mid-day sun had come to be hidden by the overcast clouds, and brought with it an uncomfortable humidity. Despite the sweat on her invisible brow, Charlie moved with a purpose through the city, quickly checking off street after street in the center of the town, grateful to Cassie for providing her with a pair of comfortable cotton shoes that helped to muffle her quick, precise steps, especially since she was in her demon form and her cloven hooves would have clicked loudly on the cobblestone sidewalks and asphalt streets. Frustratingly, the tourists and vendors were everywhere and moving through them presented a challenge coupled with the fact that she could not use her increased sense of smell and hearing in the crowds, and had to rely solely on her eyesight. Yet again, she cursed the lack of wings. Why did so many human stories give those demons wings if it wasn’t possible? She imagined soaring above the crowds, hunting her prey with better precision. Shaking the thought away, since it was useless and distracting, Charlie turned a corner and stopped short. Ahead of her, three FBI agents were scouting a couple of abandoned properties. Quietly stepping towards them, she listened in to their reports and frowned after deciding they’d reached a dead end in the area.

Sighing internally, she checked off this section as having been covered by the humans and moved East, heading towards the outskirts of the town and towards a warehouse district. As she found a spot she could stop and rest, she drew her arm across her forehead to wick away some of the sweat and clicked a button on her ear-peace, “Charlie to Angel, do you copy? Over”

A short bit of static preceded his calm, cool voice that she loved to listen to, “Go ahead. Over”

“I’ve cleared the grids in the middle of town. Some of them are already cleared by the FBI. I even saw Amanda in one of the North sections. She’s very pretty, Angel. I listened in and they’ve not had any success. How’s your research going? Over.”

“It’s frustrating,” Came Angel’s response, “We’re hitting dead ends left and right when it comes to this Bible character. I’m thinking he has someone high up in the Government on his payroll, because the dead-ends I’m hitting are obviously erased data from the internet. Cassie is communing with The Frequencies, but has had as much luck as I have. What’s your twenty? Over.”

Charlie was down about the lack of leads Angel and Cassie had found. She looked around to size up where she was, “East of the French Quarter, along the river front by the rails. Over.”

“Recommend you run the tracks East to North along the river. Those areas house industrial parks, warehouses and factories. Some of them could be abandoned and would be a good location for privacy. So far the FBI has been moving West and South, thinking Bible’s gang may be in similar zones. Since they went one way, you take the other. Over.”

“Roger that. Please hold” Charlie found herself enjoying the lingo he’d taught her, as well as it made this feel professional and she could put her emotions into check a bit easier, focusing on impressing to him how serious she could be. Pulling a map of the area out of her pocket that Angel had provided her with the grids marked, she conferred with it for a moment, “I’ll report again after I clear to the Florida Avenue bridge. Over.”

“Excellent.” Angel’s voice was full of pride and affection, and Charlie warmed a bit, “Be careful, Charlie. Over and out.”

Folding the map back up and slipping into her pocket, Charlie took off in a sprint along the railroad tracks. Now that she was clear of the noises of the main city, she could open up all her senses to their full ability and she hoped she would pick something up, soon.

 

***

 

Back in Cassie’s apartment, she and Angel sat in her bedroom, with Angel at the desk typing and searching Google while she sat cross legged on the floor in front of her alter with incense burning. Eyes closed, Cassie meditated and pulled on the power she knew, sending out silent pleas for help across the ley-lines connecting around the world and to other covens and mystical beings. She hoped that at least one or two would have insight into who Bible was. Meanwhile, Angel had over two dozen web pages up, looking up records of kidnapped children, both lost and rescued. He saw many of them were credited to him and it helped him feel a little better about his successes versus the ones he’d failed or never had the chance to help. Pushing his emotions into a box, his eyes darted over the various texts and files that he could pull up, trying to find any connection or lead. He also had multiple chat boxes up on Discord, searching crime and mystery sections to see what he could find that way.

“Ya know?” Angel said quietly, both to get Cassie’s attention yet if she was too deep, it wouldn’t bother her, and he heard her rustle behind him,

“Yes?” Cassie’s soft voice sounded exhausted.

He turned, stretching his arms above his head, and let out a frustrating breath, “For all the world that the internet holds, I’m finding next to nothing about Bible. How about you?”

“Same. I was hoping my sisters around the world might have heard or known of anyone that was affected by Bible, but so far? Zip. Do you want me to take over at the radios? I do have contacts from my days in the service in communications.”

“Yeah. I need to get a bite to eat and refuel my thoughts before meeting Amanda in a bit. But, I was thinking. I am getting a gut feeling that Bible has connections high up, and that’s why we can’t find anything on the net. It’s getting erased.”

“Shit,” Cassie nodded, “If so, then this is way, way more serious than anything you’ve ever tackled before. Are you going to bring this up to Amanda?”

“Yes. If she can get me into the system another way, maybe I can dig things up from inside.”

“Okay, go and get us both something to eat. I’ll call up some contacts.”

Angel stood and stepped aside for Cassie to plop into the chair and flick some switches on her radios, warming them up. He walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen when his earpiece buzzed, “Charlie to Angel. Do you copy? Over.”

Angel allowed himself a small smile at Charlie’s enthusiasm to use proper lingo. Pressing the talk button on his radio, he answered, “Go ahead. Over.”

Charlie explained her current status and he advised her on what to do next and to be careful. When they’d finished, Angel felt very proud for Charlie’s professionalism. She’d come such a long way from the first night. Going to the fridge, he pulled it open and scooped up a bowl of leftover jambalaya and placed it on the kitchen counter. Fixing up a plate for himself and Cassie, he took hers to her then returned to the kitchen. Sitting at the table, he ate while searching on his cell phone for any leads he could think of while he waited for six o’clock to roll around.

 

***

 

Special agent Amanda Sims leaned against the door to her rented car and took a drag of her cigarette, inhaling slowly and letting the hit take hold before blowing the smoke out. They’d been at it for five hours, and it was nearing the time that the searches would be called for the evening and they’d found nothing, not a single lead, in the city on any of their completed grids. She wasn’t surprised, honestly, since she figured Bible would be too smart to have his operations in a busy part of the city, but the director insisted they work from a pattern starting in the center of the city and move outwards, focusing on any black vans they came across. They only found a couple, and one of them she had recognized and taken the lead to ‘investigate’ the plate, so as to not let it leak that Angel was in the city. When they met soon she would tell him to switch up his mode of transportation while in town, so as to not get pulled over at any point while they were actively searching. Checking her watch, she saw it was about a quarter to six. Taking one more hit of her cigarette, she dropped it and crushed the butt under her boot and looked for Agent Tucker, who was leading her group. She saw him talking to another agent two cars down and whistled, catching his attention and waved him over.

“Yes, Sims?” Tucker approached, adjusting the collar on his jacket. She looked him up and down, and his short stout frame, thinning black hair and scruffy beard made him look older than the young forties that he was, likely from the decades of stress in the job.

“Since it’s about time to call things off, I wanted to go check into my hotel before it got too late. I never got a chance this morning and really would hate to lose my room due to a no-show.”

Tucker checked his watch and confirmed how late it was, “Sure. I lost track of time. Mid summer in New Orleans always seems to drag on, especially in this heat. We’ll wrap up for now. I will be going back to the office to check in on any new intel and plan tomorrow’s search grid.”

“You don’t take many breaks, do you?” His older look making sense to her now.

“Not when lives are at stake. Go get your room and some rest, so you’re fresh for tomorrow. We’re going to be starting about 8am.”

“Yes, Sir.” Sims nodded and opened her car door. She had lied about the hotel, as she did have a chance to check in right after her flight. Her room hadn’t been ready but she was able to leave her luggage there and had let them know it may be late before she got back. No, she fibbed because she only had ten minutes left to go meet Angel at their per-arranged spot and she knew he would be itching to get out to do his own scouting. She was grateful he’d been in town, and that he worked best on the off hours so he didn’t have to clash as often with the local authorities. She knew he’d go all night if he had too, and this was what she was counting on. Settling into the hot, sticky leather seat, she turned the ignition and rolled all four windows down while turning the A/C on to full blast and grimaced as the hot air blew out from the vents, before it started to finally switch to cold Freon. Letting the car run for a couple of minutes, she pulled out her phone and clicked on the text icon and entered a short message; ‘Be at the coffee shop in five.’

A moment later, she got a reply; ‘Already on my way. See you soon.’ Tucking the phone back in her pocket, she firmed up her feelings. This would be the first time in over six months she’d sit with Angel, and while it was all business, it didn’t mean there wasn’t still feelings to keep in check. Putting the car in gear, she slowly pulled out into traffic and made her way to their meeting.

 

***

 

Charlie glided alongside the railroad tracks, her cotton shoes kicking up the rocks strewn about on each side of the rails as she ran from building to building. It was only about three and a half miles to cover, and with her speed she could have covered all of it in under six minutes if not for stopping at each building to investigate. Honing all of her senses, she focused on each structure in turn. So far all she’d picked up, aside from the ones that were actively open, was animal or dirty human smells from vagrants and homeless people sheltered in some of the structures, and her ears heard mostly animal sounds, or if it was human it wasn’t anything she found concerning. Due to taking the time she felt each stop needed, it was close to an hour when she reached the last part of the distance she’d told Angel she would cover. Looking at her watch that Angel had gifted her during one of their many shopping trips, she saw it was a little past six o’clock. Angel would be with Sims right now. A tiny pang of jealousy pricked at her and she shut it down, hard. No, she wasn’t jealous of Sims and she wasn’t going to let that type of emotion rule her, but she missed Angel and wished he was here with her, now, as they’d been on so many previous missions. She knew he trusted her and had been extremely complimentary at how she’d improved in her haunting and tracking over the months spent together, and now she was in the field, on her own on a solo mission and in full control of her choices. It felt good but also lonely. Refocusing her thoughts, Charlie followed the tracks as they made a ninety degree left turn heading away from the river and picked up her speed to reach the next turn that came around to a large warehouse with a sign for Kloeckner Metals, which was in full swing, so she knew that wouldn’t be it. As she slowed her pace to catch her breath, she heard the sound of an old engine approaching from up ahead, and saw a black van turning onto a side road just up the way next to a cement company. Remembering a time when Angel commented about the types of vehicles often used in kidnappings, including his own van which he admitted to a bit of irony, Charlie’s senses perked up and she broke into a sprint. Reaching the turn, she slipped a little with her sharp turn and caught herself with a curse and raced to catch up to the van. As the van splashed through dirty water puddles and past a few shipping containers abandoned against a boarded up factory, it turned left and out of sight of any prying eyes from the main road. She stopped at the corner of the warehouse, and despite being invisible, chose to keep a bit of distance for the moment. She watched the van stop, and switch to reverse as it backed up towards a set of metal stairs leading to a rusty brown door.

Closing her eyes, Charlie concentrated on listening and almost immediately her eyes snapped open. She heard the sniffles and cries of girls, and her demon eyes glowed and she turned her head realizing those could be seen, if she didn’t pull back her power creep. A moment to calm herself and she turned back as the doors to both sides of the van opened and out poured four large men, dressed in dark clothing and carrying semi-automatic guns. She watched in anger as they ripped open the rear doors and cruelly dragged four girls. Charlie guessed between seven and fourteen and she felt her teeth grind. Instinct said to attack now, save them, but she knew there could be more inside and if she didn’t follow Angel’s request, she could risk all their lives. Instead, she let herself feel a sense of relief. She found them, and that was the first step, now she needed to call Angel. She watched the children being pushed through the brown door and she burned the images of those assholes into her mind. When the time came, she would frighten the shit out of each and every one of them, and didn’t care how badly they suffered.

Stepping back from the corner of the structure, and letting her human form return, she quietly walked about fifty yards back and checked her watch again. Six-thirty. If she called now, Sims would hear and she knew she had to stay in the dark. Since Angel had not yet set her up with a phone, her only option was the earpiece. What would Angel want her to do? What did she want to do? She knew the second answer but that was out of the question for the moment. Stress was starting to cause her physical pain. Looking towards where the girls were being held, she had to control herself and decided she would go find Angel so that the moment Sims left she could tell him what she discovered. Before she could move, she heard the van start up and watched it come down the pathway, with only one human in the van, driving. She figured they didn’t want it near the building should any copters be used in future searches. Angel had already told her that this operation was something different than anything she’d experienced, and these men were definitely professionals. That thought only heightened her fear for the girls and releasing her full demon form once again, took off at full speed back towards home.

 

**

Angel looked up from his drink as Amanda Sims entered the coffee shop. He raised his hand up to catch her attention and she smiled, making her way past the tables to the booth he’d taken up in the corner, taking the seat opposite him, she shakes her head with a single snort.

“I still can’t believe you were already in town when I called you.”

“Cassie would tease its the magics, but in truth I came to visit her because I needed time to recharge. Did you hear about the murder-suicide of the father and daughter up in West Virginia?”

“Yes.” Amanda nodded solemnly, “Was that your last case?”

“I didn’t get there in time. It just got to me more than usual and felt a little time to recharge would do me some good.” Angel realized that twice now he almost said ‘we’ and not “I’ because of Charlie. Changing subjects so she would do the talking, he asked, “Did you find anything, today?”

“No, but the more we didn’t find is the less we have to look for, tomorrow. We’re going to be searching grids along the wharf and tracks leading south I think, and a second group will head north and west. What I do know is that a black van was seen leaving a party with a girl and headed this way from Baton Rouge. Which reminds me, I saw yours today when my group canvassed around Cassie’s shop. I had to take the lead to run your plate so I could lie about you. So, for the time being don’t drive it around, okay? It’s off our list but the local police will still pull every black van over while the search is active.”

“Good idea. I’ll see about borrowing Cassie’s car for the time being. Sorry about that. I’ve chided myself for my choice of transportation, but it serves a good purpose as well.”

“I know, but I wanted to let you know. I remember telling you once before it would give you trouble.” Amanda smirked as a waitress came over to ask for her order. Amanda asked for a simple black coffee so the waitress would move off quicker. Once they were alone again, Amanda shared the rest that she knew, “Ironically, while we know what to look for, they’ve been pretty good at avoiding our searches.”

“It means they are coming in from a different direction.” Angel scratched his chin, “Probably taking back roads and holding up out of sight when traffics busy, or they’ve switched transportation all together.”

“That’s what frustrated me with the director and the by-the-book procedures he had us run, today. I had tried to get him to ask you to come on in an official capacity, as well, but the damned pissing contest is in full swing out here.”

“You? Complaining about by-the-book? After busting my balls so many times about FBI procedure?” Angel leaned back against the booth and shook his head, a small smile showing he was teasing her.

“You get results, Angel. That is all that has ever mattered to me. I just have to follow those procedures. There’s a lot I do for you that you don’t know about. That’s why I called you. Those kids need you. I need you.”

“Then let me do things my way, okay?” Angel leaned forward, “My tricks have been getting results, and they work better when I’m alone.”

“Look, Angel. I still don’t get how those scare tactics work on these types of people, but so far you’ve only had to deal with one, maybe two individuals and they’ve been amateurs and attacks of convenience, usually. This is different. I trust you, and your amazing ability to think out all the options, but we don’t know much about Bible and this isn’t some random pervert out to fuck a kid. You need to call me if you find anything. Please?”

Angel knew she was right, but with Charlie the stakes were far too high and he wasn’t going to let her be found out, but yet again he had to lie to Amanda, which he always hated, “Okay, I promise whatever I discover, I will call you. If I don’t need to act and the FBI can take credit, I am fine with it.”

No, he wasn’t and she knew it, but she had to trust him for the sake of the kids, “Okay, good.”

She stopped as the waitress returned with her coffee. Amanda was short with a ‘No’ when asked if there was anything else she wanted and thankfully the waitress got the hint and walked off.

“Gonna have to tip extra.” Amanda sighed, not intending to let her frustration bleed out like that. Angel took a sip of his own coffee while Amanda fixed hers up with cream and sugar.

“Amanda. Listen. Someday I want to tell you about everything, I really do. I have always trusted you, but for the moment what’s going on with me is something I need to resolve on my own, okay?”

“I accept that you’re wanting to share, someday. I won’t push. As long as you call me, okay? Don’t go in on your own. If this is as big as we think it is, Bible has stepped up his game big time. He used to focus on weapons, drugs, merchandise across the seas. Whatever changed to bring him the the States and focus on children, it’s serious. And what’s worse is how well connected he is, and how he’s able to stay completely off the radar. He has power, and while you’re capable.”

She trailed off, a bit of worry coloring her voice that Angel picked up, “I’ve not had to deal with anything like this since the service. I know. We dealt with crime bosses during our tours, but it wasn’t until….until the incident, that I witnessed anything as cruel as what Tag did. What he tricked me into being a part of.”

“Don’t.” Amanda reached her hand out and gripped his, “Don’t think about that. Stay focused in the now.”

“Don’t worry, I am.” Angel squeezed her hand back, grateful that she was still in his life in some way. Yes, he was taking advantage of her position in the FBI and he had an idea about what she said about her connections above. He knew she wasn’t above using her womanly wiles to get what she wanted. He appreciated it, and hoped someday he could repay her for standing with him through everything.

Amanda took a long drink of her hot coffee so she could let her mind think and Angel took a sip of his while they both monologued in their minds. Angel broke the silence, “You said the grids would be along the tracks tomorrow?”

“Both north and south of the quarter, yes. We have other units scouring other cities but I’m certain we’re in the right area. We’re focusing along the river and barges and ships move in and out all the time. If Bible is transporting girls across the sea, this is a good place to gather the girls.”

“I will search those areas tonight, then. I will let you know what I clear so you can expedite those in the morning and cover more ground.”

“Good idea. I’ll take point and clear the buildings quicker that way, knowing you already did and we’ll get as much done as possible. We expect that Bible will want to move the girls soon, and we’re only going to be able to stall only so many ships without any warrants.”

“Understood.” Angel checked his watch and saw it was half past six. Time had moved quick with Amanda. It always seemed to. It also meant that Charlie was likely finishing up her grid search and would want to check in, likely avoiding it since she knew he was with Amanda. He needed to get her a phone so she could text him in a subtle matter. With a last swallow of coffee, Angel shuffled out of the booth, and Amanda raised her brow in question, which he answered, “I need to go back to the shop, pull the van into the back and ask Cassie for her car, gather my equipment and start my search. It’s less than two hours before sundown, and that's when I will head out on my search.”

“Right.” Amanda chided herself for losing the moment, her own monologue focused on getting to spend time with Angel, like in the old days. She took a long drink of her hot coffee, wishing she’d asked for it in a to-go cup. Pulling out a twenty, she placed it under the cup and hoped the waitress will see it as an apology for her shortness a few minutes ago., “Let me walk you out, at least.”

Together, they exited the shop. The humidity hit them both in the face and they turned to stand under the awning for some shade, away from the entrance. Angel looked around at the crowds, “Your director’s by-the-book wasted time, you know?”

“A lot of the shit that we have to follow isn’t conducive to saving lives. Too much fucking bureaucracy.”

“That’s what I’m for.”

Amanda smiled and leaned over and kissed Angel on the cheek, “Go. Do your thing. Let’s take this asshole down!”

Angel took Amanda’s hand and gave it a last squeeze, “We will.”

He took off in a sprint, leaving Amanda standing there, thinking suspiciously that the ‘we’ he said didn’t mean her and him. Shaking her head, she headed to her car to go back to the hotel. A shower was much needed.

 

***

 

Angel turned a corner away from Amanda and stopped. Slipping out his earpiece he’d pocketed before Amanda showed up, he placed in his ear and clicked the call button, “Angel to Charlie, come in.”

To his surprise, her response didn’t come from the earpiece, but from his right side in the shadow of an awming to shop that was closed for repairs, “She still loves you, doesn’t she?”

Startled, Angel stepped under the awning and felt Charlie’s heat against his shoulder as she laid her invisible head on it, and she added, “It’s very sweet, really. She believes in you.”

“You okay?” Angel sensed her worry and mistook it as seeing Amanda kiss his cheek.

“Yes. I trust you.” Charlie’s voice turned serious, “Angel. I found the girls.”

She felt Angel’s body tense, “You sure?” He asked

“Yes, a black van pulled into a warehouse and four men took some girls out from the back. I wanted so badly to save them, but you said there are others who may already be inside, so I came to get you.”

“Good job, Charlie! Come on, we need to go get our supplies.”

Angel started to move but felt her hand on his arm, “Did you lie to Amanda about calling her?”

“You heard everything, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I got here a few minutes ago, and caught the promise you made to her. Angel, I don’t know if I’m enough for you on this one. The girls come first. I’m scared for them more than I am of being discovered.”

Angel fully appreciated her dedication and choice, and nodded, “Let’s go get our stuff. I want you to show me the warehouse on Google Maps so I can see if I can pull up the architech;s plans for it. We have almost two hours before dark and if the girls were just dropped off, I think we have time to organize. I’ll call Amanda after, so she has time to rest, “He paused, “And if she sees you, she sees you.”

“Thank you, Angel. Since it’s too crowded, I’m going to run ahead and let Cassie know so she can help with the research. I’ll see you in a few.”

He felt her lips brush the same cheek Amanda had just kissed, and the heat of her breath blow into his ear, “I love you.”

He felt her presence disappear as she moved off through the oblivious crowd. He stood for a moment, and let his fingers touch his cheek. She may not admit it, but he knew inside she was jealous of Amanda and even though she’d told him that their relationship would have to wait, he worried it would cause her to reveal herself for the wrong reasons. With a sigh, Angel moved out into the crowd towards Cassie’s shop, tucking those emotions into a pocket insid his heart. Now, all that mattered was saving the children.

Notes:

"Made it!" - Angel Dust - Episode Thee
"Made it! - Me, just now.

Trying to get at least one full chapter done each weekend, this one was the hardest yet to write. 5K words and I only covered two bullet points out of 10.

I think the next chapter or two will be fun to write but also challenging. There are a lot of different ideas I have to reach a few key plot points I want, so it may yet be the chapter with the most re-writes before posting.

Thanks to those who have read this far. Means a lot to me. It's getting longer with the more I want to add, so please enjoy the growth.

Chapter 16: Operation: Rescue

Reaching the apartment, Angel walked in to find Charlie already organizing their equipment taken from the van parked in the back out of sight. Cassie was pulling up information on the web, looking for floor plans for the warehouse and gave Angel a nod when he entered, who returned it in kind. He excused himself and went to bathroom to take care of business and freshen up. Once he was done, he joined the ladies in the living room.

“Cassie? Are you okay with us using your car, tonight?”

“It’s yours as long as you need it. Charlie filled me in on everything. I’m gathering the floor plans as we speak.”

“Didn’t leave me with anything to do, did you, Charlie?” Angel went and sat in the chair next to the couch which was covered in their usual supplies.

“Cassie gathers intel, I arrange supplies, you make the plan.” Charlie sat down in another chair, looking refreshed herself in the cool A/C of the apartment, “And two out of three are just about done.”

Nodding, Angel pulled a large duffle bag to him that Charlie had not seen before until she’d helped him bring things up the night before. Opening it, Angel pulled out his trank gun and supplies and then something he’d been working on, and presented it to Charlie. When Charlie learned what it was, her eyes sparkled and new ideas started to pour into her imagination on how to use it. Angel smiled at her reaction and showed her how it worked before Cassie called them over to the computer. She showed them the plans and Angel pointed out the best options and Charlie absorbed it all. As the hour ended and the new one began, the sun had tucked in behind the clouds and dusk took hold. Angel checked his watch, and with everything as set as could be, he looked at Charlie, “Are you ready?”

Charlie’s eyes turned red as she nodded firmly and it was the first time Cassie saw anything of Charlie’s power, and the power in the room told her those assholes had no chance in hell.

 

 

Senses alert, Charlie slid along the outer wall of the warehouse, listening to the sounds of the men inside moving about on sentry, and the girl’s soft breathing and occasional whimpers from some place deep inside. Reaching a boarded up window, Charlie used her claws to slowly pry one of the boards away so she could peer inside. Whichever area she’d reached seemed to be empty, and ripping the board away slowly, she created enough space for her lithe demon form to slip inside. Practice and experimentation had awarded her even more abilities, including altering her bodies shape, change her voice pitch, as well as being able to scale walls and structures with ease. If they saw her now she knew they’d freak out as she went up a wall to get a good viewing angle of the area she’d found herself in. Darting her eyes to inventory the various equipment, stairways and exits, Charlie attuned her ears towards each one of the doors to determine which way she’d go next. Clicking the button on her earpiece, Charlie updated Angel, following his request to skip protocol, “I’m inside. Entered from the south-side away from the bay doors the van had dropped the girls off at. No one in sight. I left a board free at the window for you.” she whispered.

Angel’s soft voice affirmed, “Understood. I’m sixty yards out, waiting on a sentry to finish his rounds. Thanks for the entry point, but I’m going to try to go in from the opposite end, that way we can take them out end to end. Any lead on the girls?”

“I hear them. They’re on the Northwest side, so I think in one of the offices. From the plans you got from the net, I’ll have to pass through five sections at least, depending on sentry movement. I’m picking up at least eleven moving in patterns.”

“Your ears will never cease to amaze me, Charlie. Even with my night vision goggles, I’m limited to line of sight. If you can take out one sentry at a time and clear the first half of the rooms, I’ll clear the outside and then head in from the north point.”

“If they’re spread the way I hear, and they’re easily spooked, I’ll have no issue with at least the first two. They sound far enough apart that they won’t be in line of sight of each other.”

“Good. Remember, these men are professionals. Likely military like I was, so be extra careful.”

“I promise, Angel. I won’t take any risks that could bring harm to the girls.”

Clicking the button off, Charlie slithered up and took to the rafters, gripping the steel girders with her claws, leaving impressions from her strong grip as she swung and floated between each one till she reached the first door. Crawling down like a lizard on a tree, her blackish hair floating around her from her power, she sunk her forefinger claw into the door’s metal to secure enough grip to pull it open slowly. Peering into the next room, she saw the first sentry turn at the creaking sound and she moved her head up out of sight but pulled the door just a bit more as bait to lure the man into the room with her. As he heard him move her way, she let go of the wall and landed softly, again thankful for the cotton shoes she kept on and she slid backwards to lay under a staircase across from the door. Shifting her demon form, she took on the frame of a small girl, shadowed under the staircase. Let him think one of the girls had somehow gotten free and make him come to her. She watched through the strands of her hair as the man pushed the door open and peered inside. Charlie whimpered through her lips, imitating the sound of a scared child, and she heard the man swear quietly and she took note of the click of the safety going off on his semi-automatic. Whimpering a little louder, Charlie modulated her voice into a mix of a scared little girl and something unnatural and frightening, “Please….mister…. Don’t hurt.. meee.”

Coming to a stop, the man shifted his body in a defensive stance, “How did you get in here, kid? And what’s wrong with your voice?”

Moving her body in a way that wasn’t human, she slithered slightly out from under the staircase, the shadows joining in on the performance, twisting her waist and head in opposite directions “Don’t hurt me.. please.”

Swallowing, the man forgot his gun and backed away, “What the fuck are you?”

“Help me…” Charlie pitched her in a high pitched whining whisper, “It hurrrrrtttttts.”

Remembering his gun, the man started to lift it when he heard a low guttural screech and the ‘girl’ lunged, claws grabbing him by the shoulders, piercing his flack jacket and a foot kicking his arm aside causing the gun to slip from his grip and go clacking to the concrete floor. Eyes wide, he saw a flash of white sharp teeth come down and he tried to scream but another hand clamped on his mouth and sharp white pain exploded on his neck. Thinking the girl-thing was ripping out his throat, he choked in terror and fell on his back, barely registering his head smacking the concrete before his vision and conciseness faded away.

Strewn on the floor, out like a light from the trank dart that Charlie had plunged into his neck, the man convulsed once and then went still. She knew that her feigned bite would scare the hell out of him. Breathing hard from the thrill of the ‘kill’, Charlie pulled the empty dart out and dropped it into an empty pouch on her waist, and then dragged the drugged man effortlessly under the staircase. Moving some nearby boxes in front to hide him from sight, Charlie checked her left arm where a Velcro wrap holding five more darts were stored in individual pockets, each one with a rubber stopper protecting the sharp tip. She grinned at the gift Angel had given during their planning at the apartment, giving her this new advantage. Pulling a stopper off she prepped the next dart for use. With a tensing of her leg muscles, Charlie jumped hard and up, catching a rafter girder and scurrying back to the same door, now wide open.

Moving down and through the frame of the door, Charlie crawled up to the rafters and crouched on one long beam, holding onto another and scanning the area. Focusing her senses on the next door, she heard the next sentry moving in her direction. Licking her lips, Charlie let out an eerie moan, pitching her voice to mimic the man she’d just taken out, just loud enough to reach the sentry’s position.

“Skeet? You okay in there?” The second sentry came through the door, gun at the ready with a bright LED light illuminating the distance in front of him. Carefully surveying the area at eye level, he called out, “Skeet, where the fuck are you man? You know you can’t leave your post.”

Cursing, the sentry took a walkie-talkie off his belt, “Skeet, this is Parker, come in. What’s your twenty? Over?”

Silence greeted him and he stepped further into the room. From above, Charlie moved through the rafters towards the sentry’s location, purposely clicking her claws on the steel beams and she watched the man’s head whip up and follow the sounds as they moved from the far door to just above him. She stopped quickly, though, as the sentry's walkie squelched, taking his attention from her position, she heard a new voice over the radio, “Parker, report. Over?”

“This is Parker. Skeet’s off his post. I’m canvasing his section now. Over.”

“Well, forget that lazy prick. Samedi wants everyone in the main office, stat. The barge is arriving in twenty to move the girls.”

“Roger. On my way.” Patrick clicked off the talkie and turned around, when the shuffling above recaptured his attention, “What the hell is up there? Raccoons?”

Panning his gun up, the LED light tracing along the wall and into the rafters above, Parker gasped as two bright red eyes, shaped like slits, glared back at him in the beam of his light before disappearing completely. Finger on the trigger, Parker darts his eyes all over, trying to re-track what he just saw. Raccoons do not have eyes like that, so what the hell was up there?

Clicking sounds appear behind him, above and he spins, focusing the light at the sound and he sees a shadow scurry just out of the beam’s focused glare. Nerves on edge, Parker again tries to track the mysterious animal, intent on identifying it. Shock races through his senses when a long tail with a spade like tip drops right in front of his face. He looks up sharply, greeted by a nightmare of teeth, red eyes and a growl no natural creature could produce falling towards him. The tail wraps around his gun and rips it away from him before the creature drops on his shoulders, knocking him to the ground. A single cry escapes his mouth before he feels a hot clawed hand wrap around his face and breath, hot and sulfuring, blows across his cheek and an unholy voice reverberate against his ear, “See you in hell, asshole!” followed by a sharp piecing pain in his neck, and instant darkness takes him.

Letting her weight sit on the man’s back, uncaring if it leaves him bruises or broken bones, Charlie clicked her radio, “Angel. A ship’s coming in now to move the girls. I could only clear two sentries, and most are moving towards the area of the girls. We’re running out of time!”

“I took out two sentries patrolling, Charlie, but if that’s true, then when they don’t report in, suspicions are going to be high with the rest.”

“What’s Amanda’s ETA?” Charlie asked as she pulled the man’s body under a machine and out of sight.

“Ten minutes, tops, and once she’s on sight she’s radioing the rest, so we have twenty-five, thirty minutes at most to clear out.”

“I understand, Angel. What do I do? If the sentries are all in the rooms with the girls?”

“How many darts do you have left?”

“Used two, have four left. We each took out two, that leaves seven left.”

“Seven in one spot, possibly on alert when the others don’t arrive in short order.” Angel paused, “And they’re heavily armed.”

She waited, knowing his mind was organizing options quickly and concisely.

“Charlie. I’m going to try to lure as many out of the room as I can. When I do, go in dark and take out the stragglers with the darts and get the girls out through the north window.”

“You’ll be outnumbered!”

“I know, but we don’t have time for anything intricate. This is a divide and conquer. I have enough darts to take out whomever I can lure out, but I’ll be pinned down. Once you got the girls out, go full demon and save my ass!”

“Angel?”

“That’s an order, Charlie. Now, move!”

“Be safe!” Charlie knew not to argue further and moved with a purpose. No longer worried about being sneaky she ran through the door and through two more large areas, cutting the distance between her and the area where the girls and sentries would be at. Turning a corner, she stopped short and her eyes widened and covered her mouth gasping. On the floor next to a few dirty mattresses, laid the burned, charred body of a teen-age girl. Approaching with soft steps, Charlie dropped to one knee and reached out, stopping short and she let out a sharp cry. Taking breaths to steady herself, she examined the body, noticing the ravaged throat and a low guttural growl rumbled in her throat. Whomever did this was sadistic and enjoyed their work, and she knew no mere sentry was the cause for this torture. Standing, Charlie stood, shoulders shaking and growled loudly, her tail whipping, horns sparking with power and her blackish hair flowing as if she was underwater. She now was enraged and had no qualms with the pain she was soon to inflict on those monsters. Stepping far around the girl’s body with respect she moved through the far door, fading out of sight as she did.

“Interesting.” Samedi thought to himself as he stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room, caressing his amulet he had used to mask his presence from the demon’s senses. When it had first crossed the magical boundary that he’d cast days before, he knew it wise to hide himself and survey from the darkness, which only worked because the demon was not seeking him out, specifically. Bible’s merchandise no longer interested him. This was no ordinary demon, certainly nothing like the ones he’s summoned in the past, and Samedi found himself singularly intrigued by its presence. Who called it here and why? Why did it look sad when it found the dead girls body? Demons seek and kill humans, it’s what they’re made for, after all. At least the ones he called certainly had endless blood lust. Following quietly, Samedi now hunted the demon that had invaded the warehouse, considering the possibility of capturing it for himself.

 

Having secured two sentries he’d darted outside the warehouse with the zip ties, Angel worked out the plan with Charlie and moved up the steel steps towards the entry door on the north side of the warehouse. He tensed, hands gripping his dart gun, knowing in a few moments he’d be pinned down and in a fire fight with any of the sentries that Charlie could scare out of the back offices. At least they’d narrowed down where the girls were likely being kept and which way the sentries would come from, but with limited darts, Angel sighed in frustration at the idea he’d have to go live and use his gun. Pushing the door open, he stepped in quickly and to the side, pointing the dart gun at any possible targets. So far, it was quiet, and he saw light at the far end of the warehouse where the offices and storage rooms were staged. Surveying the area, he was grateful to see a few places he could use for cover and selecting one that was about half way between the door and back areas, he moved to it and confirmed he could see the open door and the sentries moving inside. Just as he thought, they looked tense and animated, likely trying to contact the fallen sentries, and having no luck. He was about to make his move, when he saw movement in the shadows to the left of the room, and cursed quietly as Charlie snuck up to look in the window on the side of the room. He cursed even harder, watching her step around to the main door. “Charlie,” He thought, “What are you doing!?”

 

Working to control her emotions from seeing the poor girl’s dead body, Charlie came to a stop outside the storage room where the sentries had gathered and she peered through the window. Inside, she saw three large cages, each one holding some of the girls, with the sentries talking and sometimes leering at the frightened children. She listened as they were trying to radio their fallen comrades, and tensions were growing fast. One of the sentries clicked his radio off and swore. “I can’t get a hold of Skeet, Parker or the others.”

Another sentry, who Charlie could tell was the one giving orders, cocked his gun, “Something’s wrong. Get the girls ready to move, now!”

Charlie watched one of the men fish out some keys from his pocket and move towards the first cage. She watched the girls cower and Charlie’s anger boiled over. Eyes moving fast, Charlie took in the room, where the door was compared to the sentries positions, sizing up the best way to attack and knowing she was going to piss Angel off big time. Plucking the rubber stoppers off the last four darts. Charlie moved towards the entrance and got an idea. So far, her tactics had been fear based, using her demon powers to frighten her victims. Why not just use her womanly charms? Pulling her demon form in and reverting to human form, Charlie shed her cloak and stepped right into the open door of the room, leaning her sexy body against the door frame, she smiled at them, “Hey, boys.”

As one, they all turned, lifting their guns and then stopped, looking perplexed, suspicious and horny all in one take. How do men do that, Charlie quipped in her mind, as she swayed her hips and backed away from the door, “I don’t suppose any of you can help a lady out? I’m lost.”

“Who the fuck are you?” The lead sentry snapped, pointing his gun at her as he and two other sentries followed him out through the door to surround her. Shit, she had hoped all of them would have followed, but she had to do with what she had. Three were out of sight of the girls cages and that’s what she had wanted.

Smiling at the three men, even as they had their weapons pointed right at her, Charlie licked her lips seductively, “Lil ol’ me? I’m just a lost little demon hungry for some big, handsome men. That’s all.”

The three looked at each other and the lead one laughed, “Lost little demon? What the fuck does that mean?”

Stepping even further back away from the light pouring from the room and into the shadows, Charlie let her eyes bleed red as her body faded from sight, “It means your lives are about to end, assholes.”

Yelling as one, the three pulled the triggers on their weapons, firing rounds into the darkness where the girl had just been, fear seeping into their bones. Charlie had anticipated this and as she finished going dark, launched into the rafters, safely out of the line of fire. Pulling three darts out and into her hand, she watched the men go into a defensive three point stance, their backs to each other, still firing into the dark and that left a perfect spot for her. Stepping off the beam she’d perched on, she dropped to the ground inside their defensive circle and in quick succession, stabbed a dart into all three necks. As they dropped, she pulled each out and dropped them into her bag, staying invisible as two of the other sentries ran out of the room at the sudden commotion. As they saw their comrades drop to the ground, seemingly from nothing, they looked at each other and that’s when Charlie exploded into sight on their left, in full demon form and let loose her loudest, cruelest, most demonic scream she’d ever let rip from her soul, fueled by the pain of seeing the poor dead girl. The two men screamed and ran off towards the exit, where she knew Angel would be waiting.

 

Angel watched Charlie lead the men out, disappear and then attack with a drop down maneuver and while he was angry at her for switching up the plan but he admitted her move took out half the men without risking his position. She was adapting quicker than he was even able to plan, and that made him a bit uncomfortable. If they were going to succeed, there was going to have to be a very serious talk about following orders. He watched the men drop hard, and two others come out to investigate. When Charlie exploded into sight and scared the men to half to death, he tensed as they ran in his direction, and as they approached, he targeted each one and took them out with darts. Five down, two to go, he thought. His radio buzzed and he answered, “Charlie, what the hell was that about?”

“I will explain later, “Charlie’s voice was tense and short, “I have one more in the room who didn’t come out. I need to take him out to get the girls free.”

“Understood.” Angel responded and then a frightening thought hit him, “Did you say one, Charlie? One in the room?”

“Yes.”

“Shit! We’re missing one!”

A sound of a gun cocking and a muzzle pressed hard against his back answered the missing equation and a deep guttural voice ordered, “Don’t move, asshole.”

“Angel?” Charlie’s worried voice carried over the earpiece

“I’m fine.” Angel lied, “Save the girls!”

He managed to get the order out before the headpiece was ripped off his head. Angel tensed as the man behind him grabbed his dart gun and threw it hard and he heard it clatter off into the darkness.

“Who the fuck are you?” The missing sentry barked at him.

Angel didn’t answer as his mind was racing to put together his options. He hoped Charlie listened to him this time, as they girls were far more important, and he could take care of himself. He felt the nuzzle press harder into his back, as the sentry radioed the last man in the room.

“I got the prick. Get the girls out, now!”

Angel heard the reply, “On it, Giles!”

“Last chance, dickhead, or I splatter your guts all over the floor.” The sentry called Giles warned.

Taking a deep breath, Angel was about to answer when a different voice replied instead from behind them both, “Do it, and your brains join them.”

Angel let a smile ghost his lips, recognizing Amanda’s firm, commanding voice come from the doorway. He felt the muzzle ease from his back, as Giles turned his head towards Amanda’s voice and it was all Angel needed. Spinning hard, Angel lifted his forearm and knocked the gun aside as Giles fired, bullets ripping against the wall and throwing a punch, Angel knocked him back four steps. A swift round house kick followed, knocking the semi-automatic out of Giles hands and he threw another punch, but Giles blocked it.

“Get your hands up, now!” Amanda ordered as she moved in, gun squared in on Giles, but Giles ignored her and swung at Angel, clipping his jaw. Angel back peddled and steadied himself.

“Amanda, let me have this one.” Angel felt the years of pain of losing lives well up in him and for once, he wanted to let it all out. He also needed to stall Amanda from seeing Charlie. “Someone needs to learn a few lessons!”

“Angel. The Director and everyone are on their way, only minutes out.” Amanda warned.

Angel grinned at Giles, who grinned in turn, saying in a mocking voice, “Come on, Angel.. let’s see what you got!”

“Gladly!”

 

Charlie heard Angel’s command and turned towards the room, putting her fear for Angel on hold, as they both knew the girls safety came first. Switching back to invisible, she entered the room to see the last sentry following his own orders and unlocking the cages. Ushering the girls out and barking orders to move quickly towards the door. Sizing up the situation, Charlie opted to let him lead the girls towards the backside of the warehouse and the exit to the docks, away from Angel and Giles. Following as quietly as possible as they moved about twenty five yards into the shadows, Charlie reached for her last dart and started, feeling for it but it wasn’t there. It must have been knocked off her armband when she struck the last three men. With no way to knock the sentry out without revealing herself to the girls, who were shuffling slowly and crying, Charlie licked her lips and tried to figure out what to do. With the distance closing to the dock doors and the sound of the barge arriving, which means even more men to contend with, Charlie threw caution to the wind and dropped her cloak and shouted.

“Hey, Asshole!”

The sentry turned, startled and raised his weapon, firing wildly. Charlie dropped flat to the concrete floor, and lifting her hand, folded all but her pointer finger and shot out a blast of demon fire into the man’s gun, causing it to burn in his hands and he dropped it in pain. The girls screamed but didn’t run, which confused Charlie at first, but the memory of the dead girl had her wonder if she’d been an example. Fucking monsters, she growled, and it hurt her badly to think of the fear the girls were feeling and now they wouldn’t run. Charlie bounded up off the floor and charged the man, her claws coming out and control was nearly gone and she swiped at the man, cutting his cheek and twisting her body to take his legs out with her tail. As he dropped, Charlie debated for the first time on taking a life, and immediately hated herself for it. Instead, Charlie folded her features in and she spun to the girls, “RUN!”

“But the monster!” One of the girls cried out in fear.

“Monster?” Charlie thought. So, there was someone else! It would have to wait, she needed the girls out, now! Charlie ran up to the girls, who recoiled at first which made her sad and grateful at the same time she didn’t kill the sentry and pointed to a window to their right. “The monster’s gone, I promise you! See that window?”

Her ears picked up sirens coming down the side road to the warehouse and breathed a sigh of relief, “The good guys are coming! They’ll get you out of here. Get to that window and climb though. Go, now!”

The older girls gathered their bravery and nodded, grabbing the younger ones to rush the window and escape. Charlie breathed in hard, watching the ten little girls make it to the window when her senses picked up a whimper, and turned, scared. The sentry was back on his feet and in the confusion, had managed to grab one of the girls that Charlie hadn’t seen in her rush and held her in front of him with a pistol he apparently had tucked in his back pocket, pressed to the little girl’s forehead, “I don’t know what the fuck you are, but if you try anything, I’ll spill this little bitch’s brains!”

Charlie’s body burned to release her inner demon but the fear on the girl’s face held her in check.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Charlie’s mind raced, “Angel, where are you?”

 

Lip split and the taste of copper on his tongue, Angel shuffled his feet in a semi circle as Giles, in as bad shape as he was by now, spit out a glob of blood and mucus on the floor, wiping his broken nose and glaring back at Angel, mirroring his movements. Sims heard the roar of cars and copters closing in from a distance and scolded Angel, “Can you finish this? Why are you playing with him like this?”

“Shut up, bitch!” Giles growled, “This wimp's barely standing.”

Amanda actually smiled through her frustrated sigh, “Oh, the charms of the naive.”

Giles roared and threw a focused punch directly at Angel’s jaw, missing as Angel turned ninety degrees and caught Giles arm with both hands and brought it down hard on his knee as he lifted his leg hard and fast. The loud crack of bone followed by a scream of pain told Amanda that Angel was finally getting serious. Angel sent a back elbow into Giles nose, shattering the already broken bone and twisted with a leg sweep, putting Giles on his back with a hard thud. Feeling sadistic in the moment, feeding on the flood of rage he’d been holding in for years coupled with worry for Charlie, Angel brought his military issued boot down full force into Giles crotch. The resulting scream and vomiting that came from Giles was reward enough, and Angel skipped back three steps, taking up a ready stance just in case.

“Jesus.” Amanda awed, dropping to secure Giles with her FBI issued handcuffs, looking up at Angel as she secured them to find Angel running off towards the back of the warehouse, stopping to pick up his abandoned trank gun, and she assumed he was going for the girls. Calling out loudly, “Hurry, Angel. Everyone’s about here!”

 

“Move, bitch!” The small framed sentry commanded, and Charlie obliged with hands up, moving to the side as the man dragged the crying girl with him towards the back, where the barge was in the process of docking. With no darts and keeping her demon form in check, Charlie kept pace with them as they backed towards the exit, “Don’t you fucking follow me!”

“You’re not taking the girl.” Charlie’s demon voice seeped into her human one and the sentry lifted his gun towards her, threateningly.

“I don’t know how you took out everyone else, or what the fuck you are, but you take one more step and I’ll shoot the both of you, you got me, bitch!?”

The girl sobbed, causing the man to look at her for a moment, placing the barrel of the gun against her forehead again, “Shut up, cunt!”

That was it! Charlie apologized silently to the little one and she let her demon form spill out, and in a way she’d never felt before… not only did her claws, horns, tail and energy pout out, but she felt her body grow and spread out… filling the space she was in in a way she’d never done before, her face contorted as her fangs grew past her lips and she screamed a full on banshee roar. She wanted this pathetic human dead and it burned in her heart how this made her feel and it scared her to death but she let that pain fuel her need in the moment.

The man screamed and turned his gun on the demon before him.

BANG!

Charlie flinched. She’d let herself forget that she was mortal and even in this form if his shot was true, she was dead. God, Angel, I’m so sorry! But she didn’t feel any pain, and instead saw a bead of blood form on the sentry’s forehead. A second later, his arm dropped and the gun spilled onto the floor and it as mixed with the little girls’ own scream at seeing Charlie in her true form! Charlie spun and there, kneeling with arms extended and gun in hand, with the barrel smoking, was Angel.

Standing, Angel walked right through the massive flowing black hair of Charlie’s demon form, coming out of it as if from the shadows and he scooped up the screaming girl and pressed her face into his chest, whispering that she was safe and he wouldn't let the mean monster hurt her. Turning with a mix of angry and sad eyes at Charlie, his tone was punishment enough, “Charlie, get out of here, NOW!”

Tears welling up, Charlie turned and fled through the warehouse, her hair following like trails of seaweed caught in the wake of a boat, and clawed up a wall and out a vent that should have been too small for her and into the darkness. What neither of them knew in that moment was the audience they had in Samedi, who’s smile was full of crooked teeth and eyes shone with eager desire. Rubbing his amulet, a wisp of smoke shrouded him and he made his way out of his own secret exit to an arranged escape that was meant only for him.

“Angel!” Amanda ran up a moment later, coming from the dark, “Director Stefon is here! They’re pouring into the warehouse and others are out back securing the barge. You gotta go!”

Angel settled the crying girl into Amanda’s arms, “The rest of the girls got out the side window over there! Make sure they’re rounded up before any other creeps that may still be running free. How are you going to explain everyone knocked out? I though we’d have more time!”

Amanda caught the ‘we’ again as not being about her, and she was going to get answers, and pushed Angel with a free hand, “I’ll deal with it! Get the fuck out of here, now!”

Taking the order in as much as he gave Charlie the same command, Angel turned but stopped suddenly, and turned back, “They’re going to match the bullet with my gun.”

“Give it to me!”

Angel handed it to her, looking perplexed.

“I’ll get the license changed to my name.”

“How!?”

“Go!” Amanda pushed him, “You’re out of time!”

The loud sirens told Angel the same thing and he ran, choosing an exit he had pre-planned and hoped that Charlie remembered to be there when he got out, as he would need her help to escape the scene. Since he’d yelled at her, he feared she may have taken off in full. Easing out of a side window, he dropped down out of site of the circling copters, seeing as most of the FBI units were converging on the barge that had tried to leave port, the confusion gave him the cover to move away from the warehouse and drop behind an abandoned shipping container. Catching his breath, he went to click his earpiece to call Charlie before remembering that Giles had ripped it off of him.

“Shit!”

It was then he felt a warm presence and looked up and fell on his ass. Charlie, still in demon form, hung upside down on the side of the container and looked at him with glaring red eyes, her claws having ripped into the metal of the container and her tail whipping menacingly.

“Charlie?” Angel whispered, worried she may have snapped and gone full demon on him.

Without a word, Charlie swooped down, a fierce growl escaping her lips and Angel put his arms up in defense, fear filling his soul as he thought this was the end.

 

“Agent Sims!” Director Stefon barked in anger as he came stomping up through the gravel road, towards Amanda Sim, who sat on the side of the warehouse’s concrete entrance by the steel steps, smoking a cigarette and watching the children get attended to by medics. She looked his way and took another long pull on the butt, the orange tip lighting up in the dark.

“Hello, Director.”

“Explain yourself! Why did you go in before backup and how the fuck did you secure eleven suspects by yourself?”

Letting the smoke flutter out her nose and mouth, Amanda shrugged, “Luck.”

“Bullshit. Where is he?”

“Who?” Amanda stared blankly back.

Sighing, giving up on the cat and mouse game for the moment, Stefon looked over at the girls, “Did we get them all?”

Sighing in sadness, Amanda took a last drag, and crushed the end onto the concrete by her side, “No. We found one body.”

“Fuck.” Stefon closed his eyes for a moment, then looked squarely at Sims, “You didn’t do this alone. I know it.” He paused, “And I will be damned if I believe you took most of them out without harm. All but two, it seems.”

“I ran out of options.”

“Uh, huh. As I said before. Off the record, I am glad the girls are safe and we have suspects to interrogate. We may get some real intel on Bible because of this bust.”

“Glad to be of help” Amanda was not stupid, the other shoe was about to drop, “And on the record?”

Stefon held out his hand, “Badge and gun, Sims. You’re suspended indefinitely pending review, and I’ll be talking to your boss in Washington about your actions.”

Knowing this was going to happen, Sims didn’t argue and handed both over, “Am I under arrest?”

“No. Just get out of here. Go rest, drink, get laid, whatever. You saved a lot of lives, tonight, and I’m not going to waste time dragging you in when I have a lot of reports to process. But, do not leave town, we still have a particular rogue to discuss.”

Stefon turned and walked off towards the ambulances and Sims sighed. She didn’t regret calling Angel in and she didn’t regret the results. What she did regret, however, is she may no longer be able to cover for him whenever he skirts the lines, and there were far too many innocent lives at stake for Angel to be taken off the board.

 

Angel closed his eyes, ready for death when he felt Charlie's embrace as she him into her arms, her long flowing blackish hair wrapping around them both and she pushed hard, lifting herself into the air and bounding over the large fence separating the warehouse from the cement warehouse next door. Landing with cloven hooves bare from her missing cotton shoes, Charlie pushed again into the air to land up between two of the concrete mixing towers and pushed Angel against one of them on the opposite side of the busy FBI presence at the warehouse. Letting him go in a safe spot on one of the walkways, she bounded up the side of the round mixing tower to take her same position upside down and looked at Angel and then over the fence next door. Angel saw her sway in a predatory dance and he felt real fear, even though shed just moved him to safety.

“Charlie?” He asked again, quietly. Red eyes looked back to him, and this time there were actual tears on her demon face. She didn’t move, but he saw her shoulders shake, “Charlie.”

She stopped him with a shake of her head, her demon voice came out soft and mixed with sadness, “You saved my life by taking a life.”

“Yes.” Angel agreed as his fear lessened. Charlie’s rage wasn’t at him, but for making him kill.

“I forced you.”

She started but Angel cut her off this time, “No, you did not. I was not going to let him kill you, Charlie, and no matter what situation we’re in, I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re my partner.”

“You didn’t tranquilize him, though?” Charlie didn’t mean for it to sound accusatory, but it was against Angel’s belief to take a life, though she had felt similar rage when she clawed the one man’s cheek.

Angel pulled out his trank gun, the barrel busted, and gave a humorless smirk, “In that regard, I didn’t have an option.”

Charlie sniffed, and Angel reached up with his free hand and Charlie laid her clawed hand in it gently, “The girls are safe, all of them, Charlie. You did good.”

Shaking her head, Charlie’s glaze looked back to the warehouse, “Not all of them, Angel. I found one girl, dead, throat cut and burned as if in a fire.”

“Jesus.” Angel whispered, sharing her look to the warehouse, “How?”

“One of the girls mentioned a monster, Angel, and that was before anyone saw me. There’s someone we didn’t get. Someone with power, similar to Cassies', to witchcraft.”

Angel didn’t say a word about that, and turned his head up to Charlie, “Let’s go. We’ll figure that out after we’re safely away from here.”

Nodding, Charlie let her body drop down and take Angel in her arms and with all her strength, pushed and bounded them some forty yards from the tower, landing between two parked semi-trucks and they worked their way through the darkness back to Cassie’s car they’d parked four blocks away. They saved lives tonight, but now they faced something larger than anything they’d ever faced before, and Angel knew that if Charlie existed and had this kind of power, what was out there waiting for them?

 

END ACT 2

 

 

Notes:

Act two comes to a close five days early. I intended to write a couple bits to get some ideas out and it did not stop until Charlie and Angel saved the girls.

Samedi knows Charlie exists, and shit's about to hit the fan.

With as much material I've got in notes, ACT 3 may not be the last act.

Since I posted this early, this weekend I may take a break to organize the direction this story is taking me.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 17: Whatever It Takes

Angel pulled the car into the parking area behind Cassie’s shop and slid it into an empty space next to his van. Turning the headlights off and shutting off the engine, he let out a soft sigh and looked over at Charlie. She had been silent once they’d reached the car and for the drive back. Angel felt bad for her, but he had to speak his mind about what happened in the warehouse.

“Charlie. We need to talk.”

Shifting in her seat, Charlie brushed her dirty blonde hair away from her face and looked at him. Her voice came out exhausted, “Is it about what I did in the warehouse? Going against your plan?”

“Yes. You remember the last time you went off script? We ended up with almost the same result. You’ve got to learn to control your emotions, Charlie.”

“When I saw the girl, dead and how she was tortured,” Charlie’s eyes flickered, “It hit how all too real this is. We’d had so much success, and even when we didn’t make it that one time, I still hadn’t really come to appreciate how deadly serious all this is, Angel.” Turning in her seat to face Angel, she continued, “I felt myself snap inside. I wanted to follow your orders, but when I reached the storeroom and saw what was happening through the window, I couldn’t wait.”

“And that’s the problem, Charlie.” Angel shook his head, “When you decide to just take action like that, you’re leaving me blind and having to make quick, rash decisions. You also left me vulnerable. If Amanda had not shown up when she did, that sentry would have likely killed me. When I go into missions alone, I can plan every detail for myself. With you, I have to trust that you will follow my orders to the letter so I don’t have to worry about you, and that you will be there when I need you.”

Sniffing, Charlie reached out but Angel moved away, feeling his anger rising and she flinched, “I didn’t know.”

“No, because you didn’t listen! You agreed that I’d lead and you’d follow. If you did, we could have discovered where that missing sentry was and strategize better. Amanda made it in time to distract him for me, which allowed me to take him out and come save your ass and I had to make a kill. Something I wouldn’t have had to do if you’d just listened and followed orders!”

“I’m not bound to you, Angel!” Charlie’s temper had started to flare, feeling cornered, “I’m not your demon bitch!”

“Charlie! That’s unfair! You swore to help me, and to listen to me. I know how this works, what works best in the field.”

“4-D chess,” Charlie mocked, “You always remind me of ‘strategy’! This isn’t some fucking game to me, Angel. I break inside every time I see any of them hurt, and I didn’t think I had time. And you just said it yourself, you wouldn’t have been able to help me, anyway!”

“It’s not a game to me, either!” Angel shook his head, angrily, “But your emotions are going to get one or both of us killed one day. It almost got me killed tonight. What would you have felt, then?”

Regretting those last words immediately, Angel heard a low demon growl rise in Charlie’s throat, “How dare you! You know how much I care about you, Angel. More than you do about me, it seems!”

“Jesus Christ!” Angel slammed his fist on the steering wheel, “I brought you to my sister to help you get your memories back. Then you didn’t want to, if it meant going back to hell, and we agreed to put all that aside.”

“Not because I wanted to!” Charlie hissed.

“Neither did I!” Angel shot back, “I can’t lose you, Charlie! You’re too important to me!”

“As a weapon. Orders. Missions.” Charlie fell back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring out the window, eyes watering, “But fuck taking a chance with me. With us!”

“I take chances with you every day, Charlie!” Angel countered, “But every time you change, your power grows and you become more and more demon. Earlier tonight when you dropped down on me, I thought you’d lost control and was about to kill me.”

“You don’t trust me.” The pain in Charlie’s voice cut into Angel.

“I trust you, Charlie. I trusted you the first night I found you. I just can’t ignore what’s happening to you, how your powers are constantly evolving, and what the future may bring. I can’t take a chance on us until we figure you out, and I need you to work with me in the field, not against me!”

“Fine!” Charlie grabbed the door handle and pushed her door open, and looked at him with her full demon eyes, as she slid out of the car seat, “I’ll be your fucking tool and follow all your orders, ‘Sergeant’!”

She slammed the car door and stalked towards the back entrance, her demon form having leaked out and her tail swished in fury. Angel jumped out of his side of the car and ran up to her, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him, “What is wrong with you, Charlie!? This is exactly what I’m worried about. You gotta control your temper, your emotions! If you let them get out of control, if you’re seen by anyone!? Don’t you understand what would happen?”

Charlie pulled her arm out of his grip roughly but her eyes flickered with doubt, his words getting to her, and she pulled her features in, looking around fearfully but they were alone, and conceded. “I’d be hunted by everyone.”

“And I’d lose you. I swore to be your cover, to keep you safe, but I can’t do it alone. I need you to listen to me when we’re out there, Charlie. Not as a tool or bound by me, but as my partner.”

“Maybe I’m not good enough to be your partner. Maybe I just need to regain my memories and find a way home.” Charlie shivered, and took a step back, “Maybe we shouldn’t try to be anything, anymore.”

Turning on her heels, Charlie walked off leaving Angel shocked into silence. He watched her pull open the back door and walk though, shutting it behind her. 

 

*

 

Angel had stood there for about five minutes, gathering his thoughts and finally moved through the door and up to the apartment. Unlocking it with his own key, he entered to see Cassie standing there, arms folded, “What happened?”

“Is Charlie in our room?”

“No, she came in for a moment and said she was going to the roof to be alone. So, what the hell happened, Kevin?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Angel sighed and walked over to the shelf with the liquor. Picking up the bottle of scotch, he selected a clean glass from the cabinet and sat down at the table. Pouring a shot, he threw it back and poured another in quick succession. 

Cassie blew out a long breath and went to select her own glass. Sitting down opposite to him she shoved the glass at him and he took the hint and poured her two fingers worth. 

“I listened to the Frequencies, Angel. I know some of what happened. The kids are safe and the FBI rounded up the jerks. I also heard there were two bodies?”

Angel’s demeanor gave Cassie pause, but she pressed, “Did Charlie?”

Slapping the glass on the table, spilling some of the scotch, Angel glared towards the wall, Shaking his head, Angel downed another shot and poured again. Cassie threw back hers and offered her glass for a refill, waiting. Angel poured, face red and distraught, “I took a life tonight, to save Charlie and keep her secret safe.”

“Kevin.” Cassie frowned, “Every time you take her into the field you risk her being discovered.”

“I know. But I might not have had too had she just listened and followed my orders. She went off script again, let her emotions guide her and she could have been killed. She nearly was. Now, she’s not sure she wants to continue, and I’m thinking she may be right. Her emotions and her powers may be too much to handle. I had a moment tonight I thought she might kill me, too.”

“I’ve been aware of her growing powers, Kevin.” Cassie stood and went over to one of her bookshelves and pulled a small wooden box off of it and came back and sat down. She opened it and took out a beaded necklace, “So I worked a spell into these beads. When the spell is spoken, this will send out a ripple of energy that should, in theory, cause incredible pain to any demon or supernatural creature in your presence long enough for you to get away.”

Sliding the necklace over to Angel, she continued, “Wear it and memorize the spell and should Charlie’s emotions overwhelm her, if her demon side loses control, you will have a way to escape.”

Picking up the beads, Angel rolled them over in his hand, “She accused me of not trusting her, Cassie. I accept this and it’s pretty much affirming it.”

“You can trust Charlie, Kevin, “Cassie firmly says, “It’s her demon side we have to be careful of. If she is the Princess of Hell, she’s far too dangerous not to be prepared for.”

“Not just her, apparently.” Angel slipped the necklace over his head, laying it around his neck, “Charlie thinks we may have a bigger problem.” 

Angel told Cassie everything that Charlie had told him. About the burned body, the kids talking of a monster and that Charlie feels there’s something else out there. Cassie leaned back in her chair, “If this is true, then Bible’s got someone far more powerful than basic henchmen under his command. From your description of the poor girl’s body, voodoo witchcraft may be involved.”

“And that means someone’s on the playing board that could affect Charlie.”

“Shit.” Cassie threw her shot back and motioned for another, “Okay. In the morning I’ll send out feelers through the Frequencies, see if any of my sisters know anything. I’ll also see what other spells I can whip up. What are you going to do about Charlie?”

“I don’t know. I do know I am going to continue to be her shelter. Do whatever it takes to protect her, and if she wants to quit working with me, it’s fine.”

“I’ll say just one thing, Kevin, and then shut up.” Cassie downed her last shot, “If you really love her like I know she loves you, tell her. Love has real magic, and no matter what she is, her heart is for you. Nurture it. Make sure she knows. It could be what keeps you safe, and her in control.”

Angel looked up, as if seeing Charlie on the roof through the floors, “When she calms down, I will.”

Cassie nodded, standing, “I’ll send out a few feelers before bed, but now that you’re both home and safe, my body is demanding rest. I will see you in the morning. I suggest you make up the couch. Just in case.”

Pouring another shot, Angel sighed, “Something I’ll have to get used to, for a while.”

 

*

 

On the roof, Charlie let out a quiet demonic hiss, her features bleeding between human and demon as she paced back and forth among Cassie’s training walls. Why had she said those words to Angel? In no way did she want to go back to hell. In no way did she want to shut down any chance of a life with him and for certainty she wasn’t going to stop working with him. He was right about her though. Her emotions were like waves crashing against jagged rock, splitting her feelings all over the place and receding only to come rushing back and crashing again. She felt such rage for whomever killed the girl, and she could see in her mind’s eye very clearly ripping the fucker’s throat out and feeling no remorse. Her demon form pulsed each time such thoughts crowded her vision, and she cursed herself harshly. Was she really losing control like Angel said? She remembered when she hung up on the cargo container and saw Angel cower below her. A fleeting moment of excitement had fluttered through the back of her mind, her body aching from her ears to her nether regions, feeding her demon’s desire to strike. It was almost imperceptible but it really bothered her. So much so that when Angel confronted her about what she did, she blew up at him, despite the fact that she knew he was right. They had never had a fight like this before, and she hated herself for her words. Stepping to the edge of the roof, she looked down and out to take in the city street and the buildings around her, and sighed. Angel saved her life, gave her shelter and a purpose, and accepted what she was. How could she do any less for him? Turning around to lean against the edge, Charlie felt something tug in the back of her mind, a faint sense of familiarity that she couldn’t quite articulate but she felt a strong desire to sing her feelings, not knowing in that moment that her mother’s powers were swelling inside her soul, quietly reminding her of who she really is, and she let it happen, “When I first saw his face, he made me feel safe, a lost soul in a strange new place.”

It felt oddly natural and she embraced it, “And it felt so good to be understood, but there's so much I wish that we could share.”

Moving towards the center of the roof, she spun slowly, lifting her face up to the stars, melodizing “I will fight to make his dreams come true! Whatever we go through! I know I'll be his armor! Do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes! I'll spend my life being his partner!”

Swaying to the music in her mind, Charlie felt her anger drain and her resolve strengthen. No matter who she was, what she was or what she would become, she would never break her promise to protect Angel. She would find a way to work things out with him, fight by his side and they would be together, and she’d be willing to do anything for it. Opening her eyes with a determined focus, she whispered one last melody, “Whatever it takes.”

Chapter 18: From Hell Comes Rygen

The loud creak of an old door opening to a small trailer home, nestled in the swampy outskirts of New Orleans, announced the return of Samedi into his make-shift home-slash-altar. Dropping his hat off into a ripped up lazy-boy chair, he moved to the counter where a lap-top was set up. Flipping open the screen, he clicked at the keys with his long nails and called up a video chat window and waited. A few moments later, the black screen was replaced with the same familiar image from the warehouse. Bible, still in silhouette, was obviously angry, “What the fuck happened, Samedi? My source in the FBI says they arrested everyone at the warehouse and my merchandise was confiscated!?”

“Yes.” Samedi didn’t bother with further details, as there were more important issues to deal with, “And I may have the answer to why you’ve been losing product.”

“Explain.”

“Before the FBI showed up, two individuals invaded the warehouse and took out my sentries, one at a time. One was a man, military trained for sure, who took out the sentries outside. But, it is the other one that intrigued me, more.”

“Go on.” Bible’s voice sounded impatient.

“The man’s partner, who took out the men on the inside, is a demon.”

“What?” Bible’s visage cleared as he sat forward into the screen on his side. Mid fifties, receding gray hair molded into a crew cut, with a well trimmed goatee and dark brown eyes, he chewed hard on his cigar, “Are you certain?”

“Oh, very certain. She stopped at the dead girl’s body and I swear she cried. This is no ordinary demon. There is something special about her. If she is working with the army man, it’s likely they are the ones who have been interfering in your business for the past year.”

“Describe the man.” Bible commanded and Samedi shared what he saw of him, and how the two worked together to free the girls. Bible was quiet for a few after Samedi’s story, chewing slowly on the cigar. Finally, he spoke, “It seems that the information I’d extracted from those who failed me are accurate. They spoke of being scared by something supernatural, and now I think I know who it is who’s working with this demon.”

“Who?” 

“His name is Angel, and he is a serious threat, and must be eliminated, immediately.” Bible pulled the cigar out and swore, “And I will have to have a word with my source in the FBI. I ordered all links to me to be destroyed or diverted, but it seems he decided to be lax on some important details.”

Samedi had never heard this tone in Bible’s voice before; Concern, and it intrigued him, “If he controls the demon, we will need to counter in kind.”

“What do you propose?”

“I will summon a demon of my own and send it to kill Angel and lure the demon to me. Whatever she is, she could be very useful to us.”

“As long as you kill Angel, you may do so in any way that gets the job done. When you have this demon in your control, bring her to me. She could be useful in making sure my product is secure.”

“As you wish.” Samedi said, while simultaneously thinking; Like hell I will gift you this treasure. This demon could be the key to taking over Bible’s operation for himself. Continuing aloud, “I will begin the ritual immediately. Angel will be dead by night’s end.”

“Good. This is your last chance. Fail me and I will see to it you share Angel’s fate.” Bible cut off the connection, and Samedi swore under his breath. He was not afraid of Bible, but he had connections and power that could be problematic for Samedi’s ambitions. Closing the laptop, Samedi turned and walked over to a stand-alone cabinet and opened it. Inside was a collection of various voodoo objects, including candles, talismans, stones, crosses, features, bells and dead things. Among all of them was a single vial of blood he’d taken from the girl, Sara. Picking up a book in the back of the cabinet, he opened its pages to a section he’d earmarked previously and looked over a list of demons that were said to be the most powerful that could be summoned and controlled. He wanted one that was especially vicious. Scrolling his long nails down the page, he stopped on a particular one, Bakasura, and read the blurb associated with it. Close, but he wanted one that was even more bloodthirsty and turned the page. A few seconds of scanning and he settled on a particularly nasty choice.

“Yes. I think you shall do quite nicely.” Picking among the items inside the cabinet, he selected what he needed and proceeded to arrange everything on the floor of the trailer, where a summoning circle had already been scribed.  Twenty minutes later, Samedi had everything as he wanted and went to the lightswitch and turned the single light in the room off and darkness consumed all for what seemed like endless minutes.

Then, a flash from a single struck match interrupted the darkness, briefly chasing the shadows from Samedi’s grim smile. Lowering the match to touch the wick on a long black candle, he watched the flame travel over and take hold, illuminating the small room where he would conduct his summoning spell. Flicking his wrist to extinguish the flame of the match, he dropped it into an ashtray next to the candle, already overflowing from previously used matches.

Slipping a selected talisman onto his wrist, Samedi took the vial of blood and opened the stopper and emptied the blood into the center of the summoning circle. Chanting a summoning spell he knew by heart, the blood hissed and fizzled as if it had been poured into a hot pan and the circle itself began to glow and pulse a dark light.

“Come to me, Canis Infernus Rygen, come and be my slave!”

 

*

 

Rygen gnawed lazily on the bones of its latest victim, an imp demon that had wandered over from the Wrath ring for some stupid reason. Stout, dog-like in appearance with the face of a bulldog, muscular legs and arms and a fat body, Rygen was well fed, as he was never picky on what, or who he ate. Chewing and sniffing the air, Rygen watched other demons steer far clear of him, but otherwise ignored him as they carried on their daily business. He grinned as he chewed, wondering how they’d taste. After all, he loved to chase a good meal with a long drink of frightened demon blood.

Suddenly, something pricked at his senses and he picked up his ears. A low hum called to him and he felt himself moving against his will, his legs carrying him through the streets and out of town and he growled in rage as his body was lifted off the ground and pulled with a painful force towards an area of hell that demons did not dare wander, including himself. 

Trying with all his strength to dig his long sharp claws into the dirt and brimstone, he struggled to stop his momentum but it was all in vain. Screaming in rage and pain, Rygen felt his body being stretched beyond any physical possibility and then snapped like a rubber band and he was flung through the air, out of the Wrath ring and swallowed up by the one thing in hell he truly feared: Harum-Nulla-Unde!

 

*

 

Erupting from the luminous flames and filling the small room with it’s swirling presence, Rygen’s throaty voice was oily, gurgling rage, “Et suscitemus eum conferamus, si legas!”

Samedi smiled, twisting the band on his wrist and Rygen screamed in agony, “I have summoned my slave, Canis Infernus Rygen, and you will speak in my human tongue!”

Rygen reached a claw out towards Samedi’s arm, and cried out in pain as Samedi twisted the band again, “You are bound by my spell, demon, and will obey! Shift your form and kneel before me, now!”

Eyes glowing a dark blood red, Rygen found his body obeying against his will, shifting and pulling his demon dog features into his body and leaving behind a tall, elegant looking gentleman dressed in a tailored black suit, slacks & tie. Rygen saw a mirror hanging on the wall behind Samedi and walked past him, who stepped aside, to peer at his reflection, “Why am I here, human?”

“Master.” Samedi played no games, “You will address me as Master.”

“Master.” Rygen repeated the word with distaste, “You have pulled me from the very bowels of Hell, thrown into the maw of Harum-Nulla-Unde, painfully I might add, to stand here against my will to serve you. Why?”

“The one whom I serve commanded I bring you forth to subdue and bring into our control a demon unlike any I have ever seen or heard about before. You will find this demon and break her so I can bind her.”

“A demon? Not under anyone’s binding?” Rygen turned, deep blue eyes shining with actual interest, “And how did it come to be here. Master?”

“She will answer that once we have her in our control. She is with a man called Angel, and they appear to be aligned, so you will eliminate this Angel and bring her to us.”

“I will be allowed to taste human flesh?”

“Oh, yes, and with this Angel person, you may eat your fill.”

“Know this well, Master, that should even the binding between us break, I will strip your skin from your body and lap up your blood, slowly.” Rygen’s blue eyes pulsed, “But what you command of me, I will enjoy doing, with relish.”

With a short mirthless laugh, Samedi waved his hand, “Save your idle threats, Rygen. You have your orders and you will carry them out with haste. We want the demon bitch as soon as possible.”

“You say she is different? How?”

“She attacked my men. To save a bunch of children. No demon I have ever encountered fought to save lives. She is unique.”

Rygen tilted his head, curiously, “Not so unique, Master. Some in our realm have altruistic ideals. It’s sickening, but not unheard of, and can be easily manipulated.”

“Intriguing. I shall have you tell me more, after you finish your tasks. Find this Angel, kill him, and then allow yourself to be found by the demon bitch. Subdue her and bring her to me. I trust you can sense your own kind on this Earthy plain?”

“With ease, Master, and anyone who it has been in close contact with will have its scent upon them. I will find this Angel in that manner.” 

“Excellent. Make haste. I want this demon now.”

“I must feed first, Master, to regain my strength from the pull of Harum Nulla Unde, or I will be too weak against this demon you claim is special. I smell carrion and earthly beasts nearby. Allow me tonight to feed and gain my full power, and I will hunt your human before the moon rises again.”

“Very well. So long as you do not fail me, Rygen, or I will send you back to your hell in pieces. Are we clear?”

“You’ve made it very clear, Masssster.” Rygen drew out the word with a dark warning and then gave a half mocking bow as his demon form spilled forth, and he returned to the great Hell-Hound form he cherished so much.

Samedi went to the door and opened it, standing aside and Rygen bounded out into the darkness to find its first Earthly meal. Samedi smiled as he watched the hell hound disappear and felt actual giddiness for the gift he would soon bring him.

Chapter 19: Reconcile over a Drink

Notes:

Note that Chapter 18 has been updated in full, in case you last checked it saying 'Coming Soon'.

Quietly opening the door to Cassie’s apartment, Charlie stepped through and noticed all the lights were off, and wondered how long she had been up on the roof. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and singing softly for a while and it felt good, and so familiar, that her crystals felt warm in her pockets and she knew that there were memories just below the surface wanting to rise. She had tried to concentrate on those memories, pull them forward, but they were still very cloudy. She had tried to sing about her thoughts in that moment but it came out as a very unlady-like yawn and she conceded that she needed sleep. Dropping her key into the dish by the door, she started for the bedroom but a soft cough from the kitchen stopped her. She turned and saw Angel’s shadow sitting at the table, a half empty bottle of Scotch sitting to the side.

“Angel. I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“I didn’t want to intrude on you on the roof, Charlie, but I couldn’t go to sleep with us angry at each other.”

“I’m not angry anymore, Angel, only tired. Can we talk in the morning?”

Angel lifted his glass and took a drink. Dropping the glass on the table a little harder than he intended, it gave Charlie a start, “Sorry. I’m a little drunk.”

Charlie shuffled softly over to the kitchen table and sat down next to Angel. She looked at Cassie’s empty glass and the bottle and reached for it. Angel put his hand on her forearm, “It’s strong stuff.”

“I’m not a child, Angel,“ Charlie said softly, laying her other hand over his, “We both suffered tonight. Alot.”

Letting go of her arm, Angel sat back and watched Charlie pour enough Scotch into her glass that it almost spilled over the lip. He chuckled softly and got a look for it.

“What?”

Angel shook his head and took back the bottle and poured two fingers into his glass, “If you want to catch up to me, that’ll do it.”

Charlie kept her look on him and lifted the glass and took a long drink, letting a full four ounces of high proof Scotch flow down her throat. Angel’s eyes went wide as Charlie set the glass down and closed her eyes and mmmmed.

“How?”

“It’s hot, burns and it soothes my demon side.” Charlie smiled as her cheeks flushed with warmth, “I think we have spirits in hell and I’m sure I’ve had my share.”

“Spirits in hell.” Angel repeated and Charlie snickered, taking another long drink to finish off her glass while he threw back his shot.

“I made a pun, didn’t I?” 

“You did.” Angel poured himself another shot and held the bottle out. Charlie pushed her glass over and Angel poured enough to fill hers again and she smiled.

“We never had a drink together, Angel. Even with all the times you took me out or brought fast food back to the hotels. Why?”

“I don’t drink.” Angel said matter-of-factly.

Charlie sniffed, suddenly sad. She’d driven him to this, and it scraped at her soul, “Angel.”

“I almost lost you tonight. I saw him raise his gun at you, and his aim was true. If I’d been seconds later, I’d have watched you die. I blew up at you in the car because I was so scared.”

Charlie sniffed again, wiping her eyes, “I was scared too, Angel. Scared for the children, and I disobeyed you. Had I listened, I could have come to save you first. I was angry, too, because all I could see in my mind was losing you.”

“Do you want to stop working with me?”

“No!” Charlie’s answer was quick, firm and Angel felt relieved, “I promise to try to stick to the plans you set.”

“Try.” Angel repeated the key word, “Is all I’ve ever honestly expected from you, Charlie. Your devotion to the children, to saving lives, is as much if not more than my own. I don’t fault you for following your emotions. I only ask that you try, as you said, to keep to the plans so I can keep you safe, too.”

“I will.” 

“Thank you.”

He lifted his glass to her and she reciprocated in kind and they toasted with a clink of their glasses. Charlie pulled a long drink, swallowed and felt her body warm even more, then took another long drink and finished off her glass again. Angel took a long drink in kind, feeling like a novice to her then poured both of them full glasses, emptying the bottle completely and swirled the glass in his hand. Watching the Scotch move, he contemplated listening to his sister’s advice. He debated it as he took a long drink of his own, eyes closed as he savored the burn, and figured what the hell, get it out, be honest with her, tell her how you feel.

“Charlie?” Setting his glass down and opening his eyes, he looked over to see Charlie’s head on the table, eyes closed and out like a light, soft snores escaping through half parted dark ruby lips and cheeks flushed ruby red. Smiling softly, Angel stood and stepped over and gently lifted Charlie into his arms. Walking down the hallway, he felt her snuggle her head against his shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his shirt and she whispered in her dreams, “I love you, Angel.”

Bending his head down, Angel brushed his lips against her forehead and whispered back, “I love you, too, Charlie.”

Pushing the bedroom door open, he stepped in and gently laid her upon their shared bed as she mmmmm’d in her dreams, and he pulled a spare quilt over her for warmth. Stepping back, he took a moment to watch her, heart melting before turning and walking out and shutting the door behind him. One more night on the couch so she could sleep off her first drunken night seemed the wisest way to go, but he hoped that the day would come that they wouldn’t have to hold back anymore.

Chapter 20: Amanda Cofides in Her Lover

Sitting in a chair on the balcony of her fifth level hotel room with a coffee cup in her hand that she ignored, Amanda dragged on the cigarette in her mouth as she looked over the city skyline lost in thought. Sleep chose to abandon her all night long, leaving her stressed and worried, so she sent an email at four a.m. to her boss-slash-lover in D.C. outlining the events of the previous night, and that she needed to talk to him as soon as possible. She expected his call anytime, now, and had never felt so nervous in her life. Her entire career rested on convincing him that she made the right choice calling Angel in and letting him get ahead of the task force, and that he’d see to it that Angel’s gun registration would be changed to her name before they could identify the bullet. If she let herself be fully honest about it, on the surface those requests wouldn’t be hard at all to ask for if she could convince him that she loved him. Unfortunately, she needed to convince herself of that, first. She hated herself for using him, and more so that it was for a man she would never be able to be with, again. She was also sure that her boss knew. Taking another drag, she blew the smoke out along with a loud sigh of frustration before jamming the butt into the ashtray on the small glass table next to her chair and lifted her cup to take a drink, only to crinkle her nose realizing it had cooled while she was daydreaming.

Setting the cup down, Amanda reached for her pack for a new smoke when her cell phone rang and she tensed, suddenly unsure she wanted to even answer it. Picking it up she watched the caller I.D. read out his name and wishing she could have one, or two more cigarettes first, pushed the answer button and put him on speaker, “Hey, Ethan.”

Ethan’s first words were not what she expected, “Are you okay, Amanda?”

Swallowing back sudden emotions of guilt, she sniffed, “No.” 

“I read your e-mail. Can I ask you something very serious and personal?”

“You know you can.” 

“Honestly, with the reports I got and your email, I wasn’t sure if I really could get an honest answer out of you.” Ethan’s own voice was quiet and missing any authoritarian anger she’d been tensing up for, but it was still accusatory and rightly so. “Why did you call in Angel against Director Stefon’s express orders?”

“Because I believe in him. More than I believe in anyone in the New Orleans field office. More than I believe in almost anyone that has to go by the book.”

“Because you still love him.” Ethan’s voice still lacked any anger, and Amanda found that more painful than if he’d blow up at her.

“I will always love him, Ethan,” Amanda said bluntly, “What he’s doing is worthy of his name and I admire him for his dedication. But I’m not in love with him. Not anymore.”

“Yet it’s enough to risk your career over.”

“The children are worth risking my career over. Angel has decided to risk his freedom to do whatever it takes. If only we could do the same, but we can’t. So as long as he’s out there, I have to give him every chance he can get.”

“And hooking up with one of the highest ranking FBI agents in D.C. was a chance worth taking, was it?” Now his voice held a tinge of anger, sadness and accusation and Amanda could only answer in silence. “Was Angel in on your idea to use me?”

“No. I told him the reason he gets to skirt the lines is because we acknowledged his time in the Rangers and how valuable he was. I always warned him to follow the rules and not take unnecessary chances. I didn’t want him to get the idea he had that much wiggle room.”

A tick of silence before Ethan responded, “But you did use me.”

“I did.” Amanda sighed as she fell back in the chair, “And I don’t expect you to believe me when I tell you that it was only at first. This last year, I really did start to care for you.”

“Honestly?”

Amanda latched onto the hope in his voice. Ethan may be a high ranking FBI veteran, but he was human and he was a very good man, “Yes, Ethan. Dammit, if things had stayed quiet even a little while longer, I would have confessed everything to you in person, beg for forgiveness and ask for a chance for us. For real. I intended to do so on our second anniversary dating in November. Now, all I can ask for is the favors I sent in the email and hand in my resignation.”

“I can get the registration changed this morning.”

Amanda blinked. Did she hear him right?, “Ethan?”

“It won’t take much. I have a friend who owes me a favor. A no questions asked favor. I’ll call it in for this, for you.”

“And the other favor?”

With a laugh that was sad, Ethan nodded over the phone, “I’ll call Director Stefon and order him to not press charges against Angel or pursue him as a person of interest. I will tell him we plan to bring him to D.C. for a direct debriefing. Which is actually true. I want to meet the man.”

“I can convince him to come. If it doesn’t come with handcuffs?”

“No. It won’t. You’ve made it very clear how important he is to you. I will consider it our two year anniversary gift if you will do one thing for me?”

“What?” Amanda depressed the speaker phone button and leaned the phone against her ear to listen intently.

“If you meant what you said, about how you feel about me since this last year. Can we try for real? No games? No lies? No using each other?”

Using her free hand to wipe her eyes, Amanda felt her tension bleed from her body, “Yes, Ethan. Whole heartedly yes. I would love that.”

“You’re an amazing woman, Amanda. Your devotion to the people you love is commendable. I want to be able to share in that. Angel is lucky you have his back, but I want all of you.”

“You have all of me, Ethan. Honestly.”

“Well, I hope so, because there’s one more piece of business that you won’t like.”

Sitting up, Amanda prepped herself. She had an idea what was next, “I’m still suspended, aren’t I?”

“Yes. If I go against Stefon’s decision, it will undermine my authority.”

“I understand.” Amanda had to admit it could have been a lot worse, and now she was going to poke the nest, “But, I do have another request.”

“Jesus, Amanda,” Ethan let out a light laugh, “You won’t quit, do you?”

“Bible nearly took a dozen children last night, Ethan. We still don’t have a lot of intelligence on him. Can you demand the reports from Stefon and send me copies? I’m starting to suspect someone on the inside may be siphoning anything related to Bible away before we can dig into them. I can’t go to the office while suspended and even if I wasn’t, I fear I would be shut out.”

“Amanda. We know for certain someone on the inside is working for Bible. We’ve had a task force working on the issue for the past six months. Ever since kidnappings across the Eastern seaboard had spiked, we found some links to suggest it was from a source overseas running operations. Unfortunately, anytime we tried to get information about it, files were marked Top Secret and even I wasn’t allowed to view them.”

“How is that possible? From your position you should be able to.” 

Ethan cut her off, “I know, but there’s a shadow group for certain. I can’t stir the nest much at all or they’ll disappear entirely. If Bible has his hands in this deep, all I can do is send Stefon the order to send me the files. Whatever I get? Well, I won’t know until I do.”

“Will you send me what you do get?”

“I will. Maybe Angel will be able to find something in them we missed.”

“You knew I would go to him.”

“You’re suspended, Amanda. Obviously you’re not going to sit in your hotel room watching soap operas.”

Amanda smiled into the phone, “No. I’m not sitting this out, Ethan. I’m going to work with Angel from his side for the time being. Maybe I’ll finally see what his secret is that keeps working.”

“Just, “Ethan sighed, “Come home soon. Before anything happens.”

“I promise.” Amanda paused, then added with soft sincerity, “I do love you.”

“I want to believe that. I’ll give you the room for now. Just promise you’ll stay safe?”

“For you. I will.”

They said their goodbyes and Amanda clicked the end button and sat her phone down, and dropped her head, resting her chin against her chest. That went better than she’d dreamed. Ethan would work on her favors and give them a chance, and he'd send her the files from last night's raid. Maybe the files would reveal something to give Angel an advantage. Maybe they would help Amanda identify Bible, or at least give them a real lead for once. Looking at her watch, which read Eight-Twenty-Five A.M, Amanda decided to give herself until noon and then she was going to go visit Angel at his sister's shop. It still nagged in the back of her mind, and she was going to find out exactly who the ‘we’ meant that Angel said. Standing, she moved to the bed and welcomed the tug of sleep that was finally interested in visiting, now that stress had left her for the moment.

Chapter 21: Amanda Meets Charlie

The sharp sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee roused Angel from a rough night’s sleep and he opened his eyes to a steamy mug being presented to him by Cassie. He smiled gratefully and sat up, accepting the cup as Cassie sat next to him on the couch.

“Did you get to talk to Charlie last night?”

Gently sipping the hot liquid and savoring it, Angel nodded, “A little bit. We were both really tired by the time she came back down from the roof, but I think we sorted some stuff out.”

“And did you tell her?” Cassie prompted.

Smirking at the memory, Angel took another sip first, “She decided to have a drink with me and passed out before I could admit my feelings. I bet she could drink most under the table, but with the exhaustion from the mission and our fight, she was done for. I took her to our bed and tucked her in. I figured it was best to sleep on the couch until we had a sober talk.”

Cassie was silent and Angel looked over to her, “I will tell her, Cassie. I want her to know I love her, as much as she loves me, and I want us to work once we figure her past out. We tried putting it aside, but I believe what you said. If our love can help her fight whatever comes our way, I want her to know how I feel.”

Cassie smiled wanly but shook her head, “It’s not that, Angel. I woke up early again and checked my E-mails and messages. I found some things out that worry me.”

Sitting his cup on the coffee table by the couch, Angel turned to face Cassie directly, “Tell me.”

“A few of my Wiccan sisters up in Baton Rouge have been gossiping about a strange, suspicious man who’d been visiting some of their shops over the past couple of weeks. Gathering supplies related to demon summonings, dark magic spells, including body manipulation, and magics designed to cover a Wiccan’s presence. He always paid in cash, so there’s no records, but one of the sisters did get a name. Samedi.”

“Samedi.” Angel repeated the name, thinking, “What kind of body manipulation could those magics do, theoretically?” 

“There are many kinds,” Cassie admitted, “Including magically burning a body beyond recognition.”

“Jesus.” Angel rubbed his temple, “New in town, at least from what your sisters say. Gathering supplies and having magics that we’ve now seen in action. Charlie’s gut feelings after seeing the dead girl, and what the children said. The puzzle pieces fit. We have a new player on the board working for Bible, and if he was in the warehouse at any point, he may have seen Charlie and knows what she is.”

“We need to tread carefully here, Angel. Dark magics are not to be trifled with. Let’s go to the shop. I want to show you some things and explain how it works. You have the necklace to protect you from Charlie should she lose control, but I think it’s prudent you become more versed in my world.”

Reaching for his cup, Angel took a long drink, emptying the cup quickly, “Six months ago I would never have thought I’d be interested or even eager to learn, but now? With finding Charlie? I want to know everything.”

“Should we wake Charlie and tell her?”

Silent in thought for a moment, Angel decided against it, “No, let her sleep. She fought hard last night and deserves the rest.”

“She is one of the toughest souls I’ve ever encountered, but I could sense she was drained last night from everything.” Standing, Cassie moved to the kitchen to collect the coffee pot and her own cup, so they could fuel up on caffeine, “This should keep us going for a little while, at least. Will you grab the keys?”

Standing, Angel stretched quickly and let out a small yawn. Picking up his empty cup, he stepped to the entrance and fished out the keys from the bowl on the table beside the door. Cassie joined him and they left the apartment for the shop downstairs.

*

Stirring from a collage of dreams, most lost to her as her eyes opened, Charlie moved subtly under the covers as she rolled from her side position to lay on her back, her hair falling over her face. Breathing softly through the strands, she held onto the one dream she didn’t want to ever let go. In it, Angel had told her he loved her, and it was so soft and sweet and real, Charlie felt it actually had happened. Reaching out to feel Angel, she discovered she was alone in the bed, but didn’t feel loss. She immediately realized he probably decided to sleep on the couch since they’d not completely healed from their fight, and getting drunk didn’t really help the issue. A dull ache became apparent once she remembered drinking the Scotch. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, Charlie double-blinked at the time. 12:26 P.M. stared back in bold red numbers. Angel let her sleep in. 

Charlie turned back to look at the ceiling through the curtain of her hair and sighed. She supposed it was the right decision, but they had so much they had to do, and she wanted the air between them cleared. Using her feet, Charlie pushed the blanket down and away from her body so she could kick the excess away. Clear of the constraints, Charlie slowly sat up and turned to sit on the side of the bed and the full impact of a headache greeted her. Groaning, Charlie decided at that moment that binge drinking was not her thing. Especially in such an emotional state. 

Taking a deep breath and opening up all her senses, she determined that both Angel and Cassie were downstairs in the shop. Standing, Charlie took a couple of steps towards the door to go shower when a thought occurred to her. Taking a step back, she turned ninety degrees to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall by the dresser. Pulling at the power in her core, Charlie transformed into her full demon form and concentrated. Her body began to glow as she brought forth her healing power, and let it cascade over her for a few moments before retreating back to her human form. 

Shaking her head, Charlie smiled as the pain from her oncoming headache no longer existed. So, she thought, maybe she could drink as often as she desired if she could magic away any hangovers, but then she recalled Angel didn’t drink and scolded herself. Sighing, Charlie turned to go shower when she suddenly cringed at a sharp sudden itch emanating from her shoulders. Cursing the human body for not being able to reach the one place a determined itch would attack, she propped her back against the door frame and wiggled to try to scratch the annoying itch. Barely relieved, Charlie decided to scald it away under the hot water of a much-needed shower. She would go join the siblings in the shop after primping herself a bit.

*

As the One O’clock hour chimed on the old grandfather clock in the corner of Cassie’s shop, Angel closed the cover on the eight book his sister had propped in his lap, sipping at his coffee, having lost track of the number he’d downed since the early morning, “So, if I’ve been reading correctly, many hauntings and unexplained occurrences around the world are from demons, ghosts and poltergeists either summoned or escaped from Hell and any of its seven rings?”

Cassie nodded as she separated various items apart on the main counter by the register, where the amulets lay below, “Some, yes. Most are stories and urban legends, like the Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, or the Jersey Devil. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they had real demon origins at first.”

“And how many do you think are used to commit crimes and cause trouble?”

“There’s no accurate statistics, but most who call demons to Earth aren’t philanthropists.”

Scratching his chin, “Perhaps Charlie and I need to open up our playbook. Especially in instances where demons may be attacking innocents.”

“Let’s get current things under control first, Kevin.” Cassie softly admonished.

“You’re right. I just can’t ignore this now that I know it exists.”

A chime distracted them as the shop door opened and a couple with two kids walked in. Cassie stood up straight and smiled warmly, shifting into her shopkeeper persona, “Welcome, wayward souls. Do you require guidance?”

The mother smiled back and shook her head, “No thank you, we’re just browsing.”

“Of course, please take your time and call upon my wisdom should your curiosities bloom.”

The mother smiled again and turned with her family to look at the various charms, incense, and books. Angel smirked, “Poetic.”

“I enjoy welcoming those who are curious into my realm. It’s fun, too. I especially love it when someone who’d been blind by it comes around.”

Seeing her wink at him, Angel gave a small laugh, “I’m on board, now, sis. I really am sorry for all the years I mocked you or thought your ideas were silly. I regret not standing up for you to our parents before you left.”

“I was never angry with you, Kevin, just sad. I missed you the most when I left. I joined the service to find myself and to eventually fund this shop and live the life I wanted. I was genuinely excited when you asked me to join your unit when you were promoted to the Rangers Special Forces and got to choose your own team. It was the first time since I left that I felt like a family again with you, and it meant a lot. It was also great that we got to do a lot of good for others.”

Angel fidgeted, “Yeah, until…”

“I’m sorry!” Cassie jumped in, “I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“It’s okay. Charlie knows, anyway. I told her. It was a bit therapeutic to share it with someone special. I never meant for you to leave, as well. That was my call and mine alone.”

“Kevin. In no way was I going to serve under Colonel Tag again after what happened. The others stayed through the end of the tour because they felt there was more good they could do staying in service.”

“How are the others? Have you talked to them, recently?”

Shaking her head, Cassie sighed, “It’s been close to two years since I spoke to any of them. I keep tabs though, through the Frequencies. Brute runs a repair shop and co-owns a wrestling school, of all things. Snapshot’s got a studio. Shrapnel is working for the NYPD in the bomb squad and Panther’s married with two kids, keeping herself busy in the reserves. They’re never far from my thoughts, though. You really should call them and stop being a nomad.”

Tapping the book he’d closed, Angel looked up at the ceiling, thinking of Charlie, “Ever since Charlie became my partner, I started to remember how important being part of a team was. I wish I’d asked any of them to join me, but this was my burden to bear, my repentance to seek. I didn’t want to weigh it on them.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t exclude me. Being your ears has always meant a lot to me, Kevin, and with my sources and powers, and your skills and strategy, we’ve made one hell of a team. I just hope you’ll accept repentance before it’s too late.”

“When.” Angel smirked, “Not if. After we take down Bible, and we will, I want to take Charlie somewhere for a long while and lose myself in her.”

“You’re different.” Cassie let out a breath of relief, “The little brother I remember is coming back. Charlie is your soul, and I really hope that when she’s rediscovered herself, you two can have a life together.”

“I mean for it to be,” Angel said with a serious tone, “And I’ll make sure she knows it. But, we’ve gotten off track here. What else can you?”

Angel stopped as the mother of the family walked up to the counter to ask a question about the various types of incense. Cassie gave Angel an apologetic look and walked around the counter to attend to her customer. Angel pulled another book over and flipped it open, looking at the chapters when the door chimed again. Cassie’s voice carried over, carrying an undertone of  warning, “Angel, you have a guest.”

Turning on the stool, Angel watched Amanda walk through the shop, having given Cassie a soft smile, and stepped up to the counter by Angel, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Angel returned the greeting and noticed the bags under Amanda’s eyes, “You didn’t get any sleep, did you?”

“Not nearly enough and that was too much, as it was.” Amanda leaned on the corner of the counter and crossed her arms, “How about you?”

“More than I expected. It was a rough night. I’m sorry for messing things up in the warehouse.”

“I’m just glad I got there on time, Angel. You were almost killed. How did you get so distracted?”

Unable to correlate words to cover for Charlie, Angel tried to change the topic, “I’m human? There were more sentries than I’d accounted for, and messed up.”

“You don’t mess up, Angel. That mind of yours is a puzzle-solving machine on overdrive. No, something’s been different since that night in West Virginia, and now that I’m suspended for covering for you, I think I deserve some answers.”

“They suspended you? Why?”

“Director Stefon didn’t exactly believe I was able to take out the warehouse on my own. He knows I called you in, that you were the one to canvas and eliminate the various threats before the task force could get there. And that is exactly why I know you’re covering for someone else. You’re good, but not that good in such a short time. Someone’s been working with you, and it’s fucking obvious, Angel.”

“Amanda, it’s not easy to explain.” Angel started.

 

*

Outside the side door to the shop, Charlie stood silent, hand on the knob. She had just come down a few moments before and was going to go in when she heard Amanda’s voice. She listened as Amanda told Angel about the night before, being suspended and having suspicions about her. She heard the concern in Angel’s voice and that he was trying to deny having a partner. For some reason, this riled Charlie’s emotions and pissed her off. She was tired of hiding from the people in Angel’s life, especially this Amanda Sims. She wanted answers, she was going to get them.

*

“Explain it any way you want, Angel, but stop lying to me. I lost my job because of you. I managed to get the gun information changed to my name and Ethan is going to call off the Director’s dogs coming for you, so tell me the fucking truth for once.”

Before Angel could respond, the side door opened and Charlie stepped through, looking directly at Amanda all but saying aloud she was the one Amanda wanted to know about. Amanda turned in surprise to Angel who was giving Charlie a look asking why she revealed herself. Cassie appeared beside Angel, “Guys, take this upstairs. My customers are watching you!”

Standing, Angel motioned for Amanda to follow him and he walked up to Charlie, took her hand into his, and led them both to the hallway. Shutting the door behind him, he turned to Charlie, “I know you heard us. Why?”

“I’m tired of hiding.”

Sighing, Angel nodded in defeat. Amanda looked at them both, “Okay, who is she, Angel?”

“She is right here and you can ask her, yourself.” The snap in Charlie’s voice caught all of them off guard, as Charlie realized her jealous side was poking at her. She pushed it down adding, “Sorry, I’m just tired of being kept in the shadows. My name is Charlotte. I work with Angel.”

“Work with?” Amanda looked at Angel, eyes showing anger, “Kevin! She’s a child! What the fuck are you thinking?”

“I’m not a child!” Charlie glowered, “Do I look like a fucking child to you?”

“Sorry.” Amanda held up her hand, “But you’re young and you don’t look like you’re trained for what Angel does. How the hell have you been helping him?”

Charlie turned to Angel and the look that she gave him told him what was about to happen. He also knew there was no stopping Charlie once she made up her mind, “Do you trust Amanda, Angel?”

“I do.” Angel’s words held the permission Charlie unknowingly craved in the moment, despite having already made up her mind.

“I’m not just some girl, Amanda. Will you two please join me up on the roof? I want to show you something. Just, promise me you won’t be afraid?”

“Wha?” Amanda stuttered and this caused Angel to smile slightly. He motioned for Amanda to follow him as he followed Charlie up the stairs to the door leading to the roof. 

The three took the stairs to the roof and Charlie stepped ahead of them into the confines of the oriental walls of Cassie’s training dojo. Angel stepped to the side and let Amanda stand in the center with Charlie, alone.

“Amanda. Whatever you do, don’t scream.” 

Amanda gave Angel a questioning glance, but Charlie’s voice brought her attention back, “Amanda. Angel found me that night in Virginia. I was injured and I had no memory of who I was. He treated me very well, dressing my wounds and promising to keep me safe. He then told me how he found me, and why. He told me about the Pry brothers, that they’d kidnapped two young girls with devious intentions. When I heard this, I felt something inside me snap.”

“Snap?” Amanda’s tone was weary.

“Yes. Then, this happened.”

Before Amanda’s eyes, Charlie’s form changed. What was a gentle-looking young woman with blonde hair and admittedly unusually colored eyes became something straight out of hell, itself. Glowing red eyes, sharp teeth, horns, and a spade-like tail adorned the thing that now swayed before her. Amanda took two steps back and reached for her piece which was no longer there and jumped with a single sharp squeak as Angel took her by the shoulders and held her in place. 

“Amanda, Meet Charlotte Morningstar, Princess of Hell and my own personal demon.”

Amanda stood frozen, eyes wide and heart beating into her throat. Whimpering, she turned and pressed her face into Angel’s shoulder. Charlie watched and felt sadness and regret for scaring her, but also satisfaction that she could show her true form to Amanda. A hair of that satisfaction soothed her jealous bits. What woman would dare get in the way of a demon and its lover, right? Immediately, Charlie hated herself for the thought and regressed into her human form, “Amanda, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you. Ever. I am the reason Angel’s able to use scare tactics in our mission. I’m the reason the Pry brothers are in an institution and not in prison. I’m the reason those sentries fell so quickly last night and I’m the reason Angel almost got killed.”

Angel didn’t expect her to say the last part and shook his head, “No, Charlie. You did what you thought was right. I’m not angry with you about it, anymore.”

Charlie nodded once, accepting that was now a closed book and grateful for it. Now, she just had to get Amanda to trust her. Walking up to Angel holding Amanda who still held her face against his chest, Charlie reached out and touched her softly. Amanda shrank into Angel more, and he gently pushed her away enough for Charlie to be seen, “Amanda. What I am isn’t who I am. I fight with Angel to save lives. I don’t take them. I look scary to the bad guys. I want to look amazing to my friends. I know it’s a big ask, but will you trust me?”

Swallowing hard, Amanda turned around but leaned hard against Angel for protection, “You…you’re a demon?”

“Sort of? We think I’m something a bit more than that.”

“More?”

“We think,” Angel interjected, “That she may be the daughter of Lucifer, himself.”

Amanda pushed away from them both and reached into her purse and pulled out her pack of cigarettes. She took one out, shoved it into her mouth, flicked open her lighter, and tried to get a spark but her hands with shaking badly. Charlie gently stepped over and Amanda watched in awed silence as a flame of orange fire appeared at the tip of her forefinger and she lit the cigarette for Amanda.

Stepping back, Charlie shook her head in playful admonishment, “Smoking’s bad for you, you know?”

Taking three long drags in silence, Amanda began pacing around the dojo, shaking her head and whispering to herself. Angel looked concerned but Charlie could understand every word and knew Amanda was piecing things together. Charlie went to lean against Angel, who put his arms around her and they waited. Charlie quietly asked Angel to scratch her back, that itch having returned again. He obliged while they waited on Amanda. After a few more moments of pacing and smoking, Amanda turned to them and saw the way Angel held her and it all clicked into place. “She’s more than your partner, isn’t she?”

“Let us tell you everything. Then you tell us what you want to do.” Angel motioned for Amanda to sit in one of the chairs Cassie kept and Amanda nodded shakily, lighting a second cigarette from the remains of the first, not at all wanting to see Charlie’s trick again.  Angel and Charlie brought Amanda up to speed on the events of the last few months, and then Angel told them both what Cassie told him about Samedi. 

Charlie’s face looked stricken at the news, “He killed the girl, didn’t he?”

“We believe so, yes, and if he’s working for Bible, we may have to deal with other supernatural situations going forward.”

“If I ever see him,” Charlie felt her rage boiling and her eyes took on the all too familiar red glow as her demon side bled forth, “I don’t think I’d have any qualms ripping his head off!”

Having had the time to digest all she’d learned, Amanda saw Charlie’s demeanor and remembered what it felt like to hold rage against those who sought to harm the innocent. Realizing now that so many of Angel’s recent successes were thanks to Charlie, she felt her fear settle into a form of weariness, but it let her articulate, “We can’t judge without evidence, Charlotte. But given what you’ve both told me if he’s involved and was responsible for that poor girl's death, have at it.”

Angel blinked, “Amanda?”

Standing and dropping her cigarette and crushing it under her heel, Amanda shrugged, “We’ve lost so many children to men like Bible. I’m sick of the fucking bureaucracy. They want to suspend, fire me? I don’t care. What you two have done is remarkable and I want in.”

“Even though I’m a monster?” Charlie asked softly.

“Because you’re a monster, Charlotte, because you use it the way you do. I don’t want to be stuck on the sidelines. Ethan is going to send me as much information he can from the bust last night, to see if anything got through before being redacted. I expect to get the materials by day's end, or early in the morning. I’m also going to call everyone I know who owes me favors or will do things even though I’m suspended to get any other leads there may be. Once I do, I’ll bring it here and we can all pour over it, together.”

“I appreciate it, Amanda.” Angel said, then added, “And I welcome you to the team.”

“We welcome you.” Charlie added, sincerely, “I’m sorry for scaring you. I couldn’t bear you not trusting Angel.”

“I’m still scared, Charlotte. This is all new to me and I have a lot to work out in my head. I believe Angel though, and that’s enough. If I can help us catch that bastard, I’ll work by your side, no matter what form you take.”

Amanda readjusted her purse on her shoulder and stepped past them, reaching for the door, she turned and addressed Charlotte one last time, “Take care of Angel, okay, Charlotte?”

“I will, I promise,” Charlie gripped Angel’s hand to show Amanda how serious she was, then added, “And my friends call me Charlie.”

“Charlie,” Amanda said in farewell and gave Angel a soft look, mixed with understanding, sadness, and a sense of loss she didn’t expect to have, and closed the door behind her as she left.

Charlie leaned against Angel, “I know you didn’t want me to do this, Angel, but I had to.”

“I know. I understand and it’s okay.” Angel guided her to turn around to face him, “Just please confer with me before we expose anyone else to you. The more that know is less we have control over what gets out. I couldn’t bear it if the wrong people discovered you.”

“Trust in me, Angel, please?”

“I do, I really do. But now that we know that Samedi or someone like him may know about you, we have to be extra careful. Until we can go over whatever Amanda brings to us, we need to stay low. Take a few days off and focus on research and rest.”

“So, I still have to be invisible.” 

Charlie’s voice held a bit of anger and Angel tried to quell it, “I know you don’t like it, Charlie, but you know it’s the right call.”

With a sigh, Charlie resigned herself to it, “You’re right. I don’t. I want to live in this world with you, not in a cage in the back of your closet.”

“Whatever makes you think like that?” Angel scoffed.

Charlie pushed away and took a few steps into the dojo, “I didn’t mean it like that, Angel, I guess I’m still feeling a bit of last night. I’m sorry.”

“We humans have feelings that don’t get put into tidy boxes, huh?”

“No, we humans don’t.” Charlie allowed herself a small smirk. 

“Listen, I know we still have a little bit of irritation from last night. I don’t want us to get into another fight, not now or ever.” Angel took the steps to reach Charlie and took her hands into his, “Let’s both take a little bit to calm ourselves. We need supplies. Both for the kitchen and for our equipment. I’m going to go on a long day shopping trip and collect them. Why don’t you help Cassie in the shop and share with her what Amanda told us? When I get home, tonight, I’ll take you out to dinner, just the two of us. Okay?”

“That sounds good. I agree we both need a little room to put our feelings in order. I don’t want to fight anymore, either. Go. Enjoy shopping. I’ll give Cassie that hand and let her know.”

Leaning in, Angel brushed his lips against hers. Charlie mmmed at the unexpected but welcomed kiss. Angel debated in that moment to say the words to her but wanted it to be more special. Tonight at dinner, he’d admit everything to her, so they could try to start a life, together, even if was to be without sex. As long as he could hold her in his arms and protect her from the world, that would suffice. Resting his forehead against hers, their noses barely touching, he instead whispered, “I’ll see you, tonight, my Princess of Hell.”

“Tonight, then, my precious Knight.”

Sharing gentle smiles, Angel left Charlie on the roof to go grab the car keys and head out. Charlie stood lost in thought, feeling her inner songstress stir and she let it out in full, releasing all the tension that had built up and instead, focused on the dream she had the night before, giving harmony to the feelings in her heart. 

It would be the last time she sang.

Chapter 22: Not As He Seemed

Notes:

Aside from the prologues, here is the shortest chapter yet, with a plot twist reveal.

I thought about making it longer and more confrontational and informative but this coming weekend comes one of the plot points I've been excited to write about for the last few weeks, and I want to put all my time and energy into it since it'll be the start of the final act.

Special Agent in Charge Mike Stefon stepped into his office and shut the door, locking it behind him. Moving to sit at his desk, he laid upon it a collection of file folders related to the previous night’s events and flipped open the top folder. Scanning over the material, he reviewed the names and records of some of the men who had been arrested and their histories. Many had been in the military with experience in the Special Forces with commendations and medals from various deployments. Parsing through the various folders, he read the statements some of them had made, citing being darted and knocked out, or experiencing strange occurrences. One report was very troubling, for the statement suggested a monster attack.  

However, what Stefon focused on was the connections some of the men had, and how they could be linked to the entity known as Bible. He scanned over those details with keen interest, noting which men were most likely to be interviewed in greater detail. As he read, the phone on his desk rang and he reached over, somewhat absentmindedly, and picked up the receiver, “Stefon, here.”

“Stefon,” The familiar voice of Ethan Wilks, Assistant Director of the FBI in Washington D.C., piped through, and Stefon became focused, “Glad I caught you, directly.”

“Sir,” Stefon answered, suddenly tense.

“I heard about the events of last night. Good job. When will you have the reports sent over to my office?”

“I am reviewing them now, Sir. They should be in your hands by mid-afternoon.”

“Very good.” Ethan paused a moment, “I understand you had to suspend one of your field agents?”

“Yes.” 

“Why?”

“She went against my orders and brought in an outsider. I think you know Mr. Collins, the bounty hunter who’s been doing his own thing over the last few years?”

“Yes, I’m quite familiar with him. I also heard he was quite helpful in the events of last night, perhaps being the catalyst for the rescue of the girls?” Ethan questioned.

“Despite that, he was not authorized and could have caused more damage than good. I have an APB out for him to be brought it.”

“I want you to cancel that APB, Stefon.”

“But, Sir!” Stefon bristled.

“Look. I have every intention of having him brought to D.C. for a debriefing and discussion, but last night was just the tip of an iceberg we need to be focused on. So far, Mr. Collins has not been more than an irritation for procedure but his work has saved lives. Lay off of him until we have that talk in D.C., understood?”

“Yes, Sir.” Stefon’s face was red, and for more reasons than Ethan knew, “Anything else, SIR?”

“Just get those files to me as soon as possible. We’ve had very few leads on this Bible person, and I want to see what your agents gathered. I also want all the interrogation notes from those you rounded up.”

“Yes, Sir.” Stefon twisted the cord of the landline in his hand, seething.

“Good. I will be looking forward to reading them. Have a good day, Agent Stefon.”

The dial tone replaced Wilk’s voice and Stefon slammed the receiver back on the machine and swore under his breath. Standing, he walked to one of the file cabinets and opened the middle drawer. Reaching into the back, he fished out a secret key and went back to his desk. Sitting down, he opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a small lockbox. With the key he opened it, took out a small burner cell phone, and powered it up. Once it booted up, he dialed the only number that was saved. He waited as it rang almost a full seven times before a connection was made.

“Stefon.” Bible’s voice flowed through the earpiece, “What is it?”

Special Agent Stefon swallowed once, “Sir. We have a problem. I just got a call from Director Wilks, ordering me to kill the APB on Mr. Collins, and he wants the full file report on his desk by mid-afternoon.”

A short silence made Stefon’s nerves fray. Finally, Bible spoke, “I have other means to dispose of Angel in the works as we speak, Stefon, so to keep your cover, do as he ordered. I expect you will clean up the files before you send them, as usual?”

“Of course. But, I usually get more time to make sure everything looks official and clean. His demands could create a problem.”

“There is no problem. You will not fail me.”

“Sir.” Stefon’s voice was small, “With Agent Sims going against my orders and bringing Mr. Collins in, and the bust of last night, suspicions are high and I can’t do too much or I’ll be discovered.”

“This Sims? She knows Angel?”

“Very well. They dated before he joined the service.”

“Interesting.” Bible mused, “Do your job, Stefon, and make sure any detail that can be linked back to me is destroyed.”

“I will try, Sir, but after this, I can’t do anything else or I could be discovered.”

“You will do what I tell you to do, Stefon. Period.”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but they’re already suspicious around here and in D.C. If I’m discovered, they’ll link me to you, and I know you don’t want that.”

“No. I do not.” Bible decided, “Redact the files you have. I will be in contact, soon.”

Another dial tone greeted Stefon and he fell back into his chair, mentally exhausted and frightened. This was not a position he had ever wanted to be in. He felt sorry for the children and always felt a sense of relief when one of them was saved. But Bible held secrets that would destroy him if they were revealed, so he did what he had to do to protect his own life. Self-preservation was paramount. With a lick of his lips, he quickly began to sort through the files on his desk, selecting those that might be problematic and pulling them aside. Once he had them out of the files, he'd pull up the digitals, delete those pages, and shred the physical evidence, just as his boss, Bible, had demanded.

 

*

 

Bible picked up the cigar in the ashtray beside him and took a long drag, chewing the end as his fingers caressed each other, scowling at Stefon's attitude. He was right, though, if he were to be discovered, he had enough knowledge of Bible's operations to be a problem. It would be a loss to eliminate Special Agent Stefon in order to find and acquire another with such a high position in the FBI. It would also disrupt his operations in the States, but the alternative was worse. Reaching for the phone, Bible decided to make the call and have Samedi give his pet demon a few more targets to eliminate.

Chapter 23: Angel vs Rygen

Notes:

WARNING - Violence and some gore.

“Will that be all?” Asked the proprietor of the small gun shop that Angel chose as his final stop of the day, as he input the total into the register for the guns and ammo on the counter. 

“Yes, and thank you for staying past your closing time for me, I didn’t mean to come so late.”

“It’s all good, Mr. Collins. You’ve made a good selection of purchases, so it was worth it.”

Angel smiled as he pulled out his wallet and fished out the appropriate amount of cash, silently thanking Cassie for helping him replace his gun and replenish his supplies. While the shopkeeper bagged up the ammo and other items, Angel holstered the gun. He felt both relieved and irritated at the same time. He had hated guns since he left the Special Forces. But he understood their importance in his line of work. He also knew that until he could get his tranquilizer gun repaired, he had little choice. For the time being, he would have to rely on Charlie in the field with her new dart band. Thanking the owner again, Angel stepped outside, saw that dusk had pushed the sun over the horizon, and checked his watch; 7:50 P.M. It was later than he realized, and if he was going to keep his promise to Charlie to spend a nice night out, he was going to have to hurry to get home. Putting the bags in the trunk, Angel took out a box of ammunition, slid into the driver's seat and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Cassie's number and hit call, loading the gun as he waited for her to answer.

“Hey bro,” Cassie’s chipper voice greeted him, “Still shopping?”

“Just finished. I wanted to call ahead and ask if you’d let Charlie know I’ll be home soon. I promised to take her out to dinner, tonight.”

“Aw. That’s great. Charlie was a big help in the store, today. We even practiced some of her powers when we could fit them in between customers. She’s really improving her conjuring abilities and seems in much better spirits. Did you tell her?”

“Not yet. I figured a romantic dinner would set the mood.”

“Perfect. I’ll tell her to go get ready, and I’ll close up the shop in the meantime. Don’t suppose you can grab something to eat for me on the way back?”

“Sure. Any requests?”

“I’d love some fried chicken. Don’t care where from.”

“Done, sis. There’s a place on the other side of the City park. I should be home in thirty minutes.”

“See you soon.”

They hung up and Angel pulled out of the parking lot of the sports shop and headed East. It had been years since he visited the park and always enjoyed taking the slow route through when he visited town. A few minutes later he drove into the park, which was void of almost all traffic as it was close to closing. As he turned onto Henry Thomas Drive and moved under the train bridge, Angel caught sight of something moving fast in the shadows along the side of the road. He had no time to react before he felt a tremendous impact to the driver's side door, pushing the inside part against his left arm and shoulder. The strike sent the car careening towards one of the concrete pillars under the second bridge forty feet away. Barely able to push the brake pedal down, Angel managed to slow the momentum, but the impact still deployed the airbag and Angel felt the seat belt dig into him as the car connected squarely into the first pillar. 

Breathing hard to catch his breath, Angel quickly assessed the situation. Something hit the car, and he already concluded it couldn’t have been a deer. That set off alarm bells, but he needed to get himself under control, first. Pushing the airbag away, he felt pain sear at his shoulder, which told him it was dislocated. Frustrated with the airbag not cooperating, he pulled his utility knife, sliced into it, and ripped it away so he could check his surroundings. It wasn’t good, as the impact caused the car to rotate and put him squarely under the bridge. Coupled with dusk turning to dark, he was now in the shadows and could not see as well as he needed. Twisting the knife in his hand to set the butt of it towards the window, he used remnants of the airbag as protection and struck hard, shattering the safety glass. Once the noise settled, he focused, slowing his breathing as much as he could to eliminate the noise, and listened intently. At first, there was nothing save for the hissing of the shattered radiator, but then another sound bled into the ambiance of the car’s damaged noises, and Angel made out what could only be described as labored breathing. 

Tense, Angel undid his seatbelt and pulled his new gun out of the holster, sliding the safety off. Pulling at the door handle, Angle found it jammed and realized the damage to the door made exiting the car from the side, impossible. Ignoring the pain in his right shoulder, Angel pushed himself up and over the center console to the passenger side and tried that door, which thankfully flew open with a strong push. Dropping to the ground, Angel rolled onto his stomach and aimed his weapon in the direction where he thought he’d head the breathing. Darkness swelled from under the bridge, flowing outwards like an incoming tide, making it nearly impossible to see anything of consequence. 

“Okay.” Angel thought, “It wasn’t a deer or any normal wildlife that hit the car. Which means our new chess piece sent out a pawn. Shit!” 

He needed Charlie! Sliding backward on his stomach, until he could get his back against the side of the car for cover, Angel reached into his pocket and felt his phone. Before he could extract it, the same labored breathing came back, but from a new position. On top of the roof of the car! Angel looked up sharply to see two red-slitted eyes, similar to Charlie’s demon eyes, glowing down at him. 

A raspy voice came from the air between them, “Hello, food.”

Twisting to land on his back, Angel drew his gun towards the eyes and fired two rounds. The eyes darted away, and he heard the bullets ricochet off the concrete of the bridge above. Throaty laughter came from the shadows, and the sound moved quickly between the pillars, mixed with an otherworldly wolf-dog-like howl. Fear gripped Angel, the same fear he felt the night he met Charlie and saw her change. This demon, however, wanted him dead. Again, Angel reached for his phone and again could not pull it free before he was slammed into by a large fleshly body that had bolted from the darkness under the bridge and sent him sprawling across the grass and into the shrubbery along the side of the bridge. The impact broke ribs and Angel gasped to catch his breath, rolling as much as he could to lessen the impact, and somehow managed to keep a grip on his gun. 

Burning tears filled his eyes, and he swatted them away with a quick brush of his forearm, squinting to track the path of the demon. Using his wits to triangulate which direction it would have gone after the blindside attack, he deduced where it should be. Aiming, Angel fired a single shot and was rewarded with a screeching yelp of pain followed by the more frightening demonic growl he’d ever heard, even darker and more demonic than Charlie. Fuck, he’d pissed it off more than hurt it. Fighting the branches, twigs, and broken bits of the bush he’d been shoved into by the impact, Angel struggled to get free so he could get into a better position to defend. 

Unfortunately, what time he needed was not granted. Searing heat exploded from his back and he fell face-first into the grass, taking a split second to feel grateful it wasn’t the concrete sidewalk just feet away. The pain was followed by the sensation of wetness, as if he’d been standing in a shower and knew he’d been sliced open, badly. The pain was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, and knew it was deep. Very deep. 

“No prey has ever wounded me before.” Rygen’s voice held amusement as it approached his prone form, “I gift you my respect, Angel.”

“You know me?” Angel coughed hard, blood dripping from his lips.

“My master, Samedi, sends his regards for what you and your demon bitch did in the warehouse. More so, that you allowed him to discover her. He has such plans for the little thing.”

Trying to buy time, Angel engaged the demon, “What kind of plans?”

Rygen laughed throatily, “He says she is special and will be his key to taking over Bible’s kingdom. If I didn’t want to rip his throat out and drink his blood, I would almost be impressed with Samedi. He is as cruel and despicable as any of Hell’s overlords.”

Angel felt Rygen step over him, and he saw two stout animal-like legs on each side of his head, and hot breath blew into his hair, mussing it like a blow-dryer. Angel tried to stay his fear, but it was difficult. He tried another question, “Overlords?”

“Now, now, my dear prey. I entertained you for the moment, but now it's time to feed. I’ll be sure to let your demon bitch know how much you suffered, begging for mercy like the pathetic human you are.” 

Angel couldn’t move his arm to get his gun free, and felt deep remorse for failing Charlie and his sister. He felt Rygen sniff deeply, inhaling the delicious aroma of Angel’s torn back, and he braced for the killing blow, but it didn't come. Instead, he heard a mixture of concern and curiosity as Rygen lifted its bulldog-like head from Angel’s bleeding wound, “It can’t be.” 

He felt Rygen press its nose down into his tattered back a second time, and he winced at the pain, but Rygen didn’t feast, rather it took another strong deep breath, inhaling more scent. Cursing darkly, “How in the fuck did you get her?” Rygen demanded.

Gulping, Angel struggled to speak, “Her?”

“Your demon bitch. How did you get her?”

Angel grasped at the delay and reached his hand up to his neck, remembering the necklace his sister had given him. He cursed himself for forgetting about it, but magics were not something he was used to utilizing in combat, “It’s a tantalizing story… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

Rygen growled in rage and bit into Angel’s arm hard, sharp teeth ripping into his flesh at the forearm, and Angel cried out in terrible pain.

“Don’t fucking play games with me, human!” Rygen flipped Angel onto his back hard, lowered his frightening face down, and breathed hot, hellish stink into Angel’s bloodied face, “You will tell me how you managed to bind the princess of hell, herself, or I will feast on your from the ends of your extremities while you listen to the crunch of bone and suffer for hours. I can eat very, very slowly.”

Angel heaved his chest, trying to suck in as much air as he could, despite the foul stink of Rygen’s breath. Fingers on his neck, he twisted the beads, “And if I tell you, you’ll make it quick?”

“Tell me the truth, human, and I will crush your skull in my jaws and end your life immediately in respect.”

“I’m having trouble speaking”, Angel fibbed, “Come closer, so I can whisper it.”

Rygen leaned in, eager to discover not only how this human had bound the princess of hell, but to take in all the scents that covered him. Scents of others he had been in contact with. Scents he could hunt down next. It would be fun to kill all those that Angel knew. He took in many deep breaths, imprinting those scents in his mind, and leaned his floppy ear to listen intently, “Tell me!”

“Ignes in venis excruciant tuis daemonia!” Angel recited the spell Cassie had taught him, and the power in the beads did its thing, sending magic fire searing into and through the veins of Rygen’s body. 

Rygen screamed loudly, its demon voice exploding as he fell back and down the slight slope of the grass and into the road below, twisting in agony as his veins burned from the power of the spell. Claws scraping on the concrete as he tried to gain purchase, Rygen scrambled and faltered before finding his balance and he bounded away, real terror flooding his mind. Angel would die, anyway, he thought, but he needed to get as far away from the source of the spell infecting him to recover.

“Fuck you, Angel! I will see you in hell!” Rygen’s voice faded into the distance.

Lying in the cool grass, Angel coughed up more blood and knew he’d been mortally wounded. Even so, he had a moment to be thankful that he’d never use that spell on Charlie. He would choose death before he ever hurt her like that. Sadly, death may have made the choice for him. Finally able to pull his phone out, he noticed the screen was busted up badly and prayed that it still worked. Pushing the side button, he could make out just enough to make the call. 

“Please, Cassie, answer quickly.” Angel felt the arms of darkness start to embrace him, whispering promises of a final rest.

Chapter 24: Give Me the Power I Need!

After locking the front door, Cassie dropped her store key in her breast pocket and returned to the main counter to finish the day's paperwork. It was one of the more enjoyable days she'd had in a long time. With Charlie's help, they'd set up a few displays and rearranged some other inventory, and whenever the opportunity presented itself, she'd let Charlie practice her powers to see what new tricks she could discover. They realized that not only could Charlie conjure items she needed out of thin air, but she could also manipulate the Earth's atmospheric electrical currents, causing the lights in the store to flicker on and off. Cassie mused how similar this was to many horror stories where the monster's presence affected objects and lights. 

Picking up her pen, Cassie began to write in totals from the day's sales when her cellphone rang. Checking the caller I.D. she saw Angel was calling again. Smirking, she scooped up the phone and, jokingly, answered, “Did you forget what I ordered, already?”

“Cass….”, Angel’s raspy voice sounded gargled and distant, causing Cassie to tense up.

“Kevin?” She gripped the phone tightly, “What’s wrong?”

“Park. Demon. Charlie. Dying.”

Just as in the military, when necessary information needed to be delivered quickly, only the most important words were spoken and Cassie swallowed hard, knowing what Angel meant, “Fuck! Hold on, brother, please! I’ll get Charlie! Stay where you are, she’ll find you!”

Keeping Angel on the phone, Cassie knew all she had to do to get Charlie’s attention was scream, “CHARLIE! HELP!”

Cassie ran for the side door, thanking the Goddesses, she heard fast footfalls bounding down the hallway's stairs. Cassie pulled the door handle at the same time Charlie pushed from the other side and Charlie caught herself before bowling Cassie over, “Cassie! Are you okay!?”

“It’s Kevin! He’s hurt! BAD!”

“Where!?” Cassie was glad Charlie didn’t mince words.

“In the city park, four miles north of here. He’s been attacked by a demon, and he’s in bad shape! You have got to get him back here, anyway you can!”

Without a word, Charlie spun on her heels and ran for the front door. Cassie ran out just in time to see her disappear from view, and the door opened by itself. Lifting the phone to her ear, Cassie assured her brother, "She's on her way." Silence answered her. "Angel? ANGEL!?"

Cassie held back her tears, praying that Charlie would make it, and ran up the stairs to the apartment to prepare for her return.

 

***

 

Charlie tore out the door and jumped into the air, clearing the city street of cars and landing on the sidewalk on the other side. Frustrated by the number of tourists still out and about, Charlie had to weasel her way through the various groups, occasionally bumping into someone or knocking over a trash can, but she didn’t give a fuck about the reactions she heard from people surprised by the mysterious events that followed her. With her senses fully opened, Charlie transformed into her demon form and picked up speed as she headed for the park. Though she had never been there before, she trusted Cassie's directions and sniffed the air as she moved, searching for Angel's unique and familiar scent.

The distance shortened quickly once Charlie got clear of the French Quarter and into the quieter neighborhoods between the shop and the park, and thankfully it didn’t take long to get a bead on Angel’s location. Her heart beating almost as fast as she ran, Charlie blinked away the tears that had gathered at the sides of her eyes, focusing instead on finding and saving the man she loved.

Entering the south entrance of the park, Charlie skidded to a stop. She took a deep breath, analyzing the endless scents that poured into her nostrils. Her eyes snapped open when she spotted him nearby. Trusting her scent, she raced in his direction and within moments came upon Cassie's car, the front of it wedged against one of the road's support pillars above, the radiator hissing as fluid spilled onto the ground. Darkness now prevailed, but it mattered little to Charlie's incredible eyesight, and she saw blood on the pavement and followed it up the slight incline to a tangle of bushes and undergrowth, crying out fearfully, “Angel!?

A shuffle of movement answered her, and she ripped the brush away and gasped harshly, seeing Angel’s mangled body, “No! No-no-no-no-no!” 

Charlie dropped to her knees next to him as pure terror gripped her soul, “Angel, baby!? Talk to me, please!”

Only moans of deep pain answered her, and she cried, frantically pulling him into her arms, “Angel! Please! Stay with me! Fuck! Your back!”

Blood seeped onto her hands as she carefully cradled Angel's body, which felt cooler than it should. Shaking and panicking, Charlie shook her head hard, “Tell me what to do! I can't think! Angel, please help me. What am I going to do? I can't carry you. Your body is too damaged!

Charlie tore off her top, exposing her breasts since she'd gone braless for the day, and pressed the black T-shirt against his back, applying pressure to the wound. Angel hissed in agonizing pain and shivered, then threw up on the grass and Charlie screamed, “CASSIE! HELP! PLEASE HELP ME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

Charlie couldn’t see anymore, eyes drowned in tears, and she held Angel tightly to her body, cradling him. 

“FUCK! Cassie, I need you!” She thought in desperation, “I want us back home, Angel. I want us in the apartment, safe, NOW!”

Charlie screamed as her mind went blank, and she felt power swell insider her, power she didn’t recognize, and a vision of Cassie’s living room flooded through her thoughts. 

“Cassie!” She begged for her friend, her sister, to be there with her and felt shock when she heard Cassie’s voice, also coated in surprise, answered her.

“Charlie!? Angel!?” Cassie's voice came from behind Charlie, and she opened her eyes to find her and Angel on the floor of Cassie's living room, and Cassie froze for a split second in shocked surprise. The moment didn't last long, though, as Cassie grabbed the box that had been on the table and dropped down next to Charlie, gently but firmly pulling Angel out of her arms so that she could rest him on his stomach on the carpet.

“How?” Charlie croaked, her voice broken from her screams.

“You teleported.” Was the only answer she got as Cassie Pulled bandage rolls from the box and thrust them into Charlie’s hands, “Rip them into three foot long strands. Now!”

Without checking to see if Charlie was obeying, Cassie fished out a large vial, pulled open the stopper, and poured a green powder over Angel's back while whispering some sort of spell. Steam began to rise from the bloody wound, and Angel gasped and moaned, vomiting again. Cassie turned his head so he wouldn't drown in the spilling liquid. Reaching behind her, Cassie motioned for the strands, and Charlie silently handed them to her one by one. Cassie began draping them over the wounds, and Charlie watched as they began to adhere to his ragged skin in a strange way, cauterizing on contact.

“What is it doing?” Charlie’s voice was panicked by Angel’s pained response to the strands taking hold.

“The powder seeps into the wound and stops the blood from flowing, and the bandages are going to become like a new skin for a short time, until I can diagnose how badly the wound is. Then I’m calling an ambulance.”

“No.” Angel’s voice came from bloodied and puke covered lips, “No hospital.”

“Kevin,” Cassie argued, “You are in very bad shape. My magic’s slowing the hemorrhaging, but if we don’t get you to a hospital, you’re going to die.”

“No hospital.” Angel ordered and passed out.

Charlie choked in fear and moved in next to Cassie, reaching out to Angel, and Cassie glared at her, “You’re distracting me. I need you to leave, now!”

“What!?” Charlie’s eyes bled red in defiance.

“I’m going to use more magics, Charlie, and some of them could affect you in ways I can’t imagine. I need you out of the apartment!”

Cassie crossed her arms and grabbed the hem of her green blouse, pulling it over her head and shoving it into Charlie's chest, “Cover up and get out. Now!” Cassie controlled her own fear and added with as much love as she could, “Please, darling, so we don't lose him!”

Charlie pushed herself away and slid back against the couch. Her demon eyes bored deep into Cassie's soul before she twisted to her feet and ran out of the apartment, crying, and headed for the roof. Cassie sighed softly, regretting having to send Charlie away, knowing how much she feared for Angel. But since he wouldn't let her call an ambulance, she would have to use stronger magic, and she wasn't lying. She really had no idea how Charlie would react to her if she got too close. Pushing her worries aside, Cassie went to work on saving her brother's life, her confidence shaken to the core.

Notes:

The next chapter is special to me, for it is the very first thing I wrote when this story came to mind, and while it is very much a homage and paraphrase to 'Out for Love' from episode seven of Hazbin Hotel, what started as a little bit of fun writing it in a new way, what you've been reading thus far has grown from it to become something so much more. And a little tease for what's to come. The next chapter is titled "Charlie Evolves."

Chapter 25: Out For Love

“ You’ve been relyin’ on your demon 

to frighten the ones you want to annul! 

Now you’re facin’ one that is your even, 

so rise above or you’ll fall!”

– Cassandra Elizabeth Collins

 

 

Slamming the door to the roof open, Charlie flew through it, rage rippling over her demon skin. With a wail of grief, she grabbed a plastic chair and flung it viciously into one of Cassie’s dojo walls, knocking it over, and she dropped to her knees. 

“Please,” She whispered as fear enveloped her, “Don’t die, Angel. Please!”

Laying flat on the roof, Charlie pressed her ear against the warm, rough granular surface and concentrated on listening. Eyes closed, Charlie stilled her frightened breathing and could make out Cassie’s whispers as she recited spells one after the other, and grimaced along with Angel’s pained reactions to some of them. If the spells could affect her, the barrier between her and the living room interfered. Still, true or not, she was not happy with Cassie sending her away. She would have suffered gladly if it meant she could be close to Angel, just in case. Time passed agonizingly slow, each sound of Angel’s suffering twisted Charlie’s heart, her body reacting in sympathy. 

As Charlie listened, Cassie’s whispers grew further apart, as did Angel’s reactions, to the point Charlie had to strain to hear any sound or movement in the apartment until the only sound left was Cassie moving around the apartment, and she could make out Angel’s stuttered but steady breathing, indicating he was asleep. Eventually, the sound of the apartment’s front door opening and closing, followed by Cassie’s approach to the roof, signaled for Charlie to push herself up off the ground and dust herself off. If Angel was resting and Cassie wasn’t running or screaming, then maybe he’d be okay and Charlie used that to calm herself. She turned as Cassie opened the door.

“How is he?” Charlie bit her lip, afraid.

“He’s resting on the couch, and I think he’s out of danger. I still want to take him to the hospital, but I will wait for him to wake up to decide on it.  The magics worked enough to stop the bleeding, but Charlie, he’s done. The damage is too great, and I don’t know how well he will heel.”

“Done?” 

“No more missions, no more heroics. That thing tore into his back, badly, and it's a miracle it didn’t damage his spine, but he’ll never be one hundred percent again.” Cassie’s voice cracked with the explanation. She needed to be focused to give the diagnosis to Charlie, but this was her brother who could likely be handicapped for the rest of his life, and it finally sunk in. Cassie stepped over to the downed wall, pulled the chair Charlie had tossed onto its legs and sat down in it, wearily.

It took a few seconds for Cassie’s words to sink in, but when they did, Charlie backed up three steps, shaking her head, “No! No, it can’t be. How did this… What was it that did this to him?”

Rubbing her eyes, Cassie’s own voice held anger, “Angel managed to get a few things out while the magics did their thing. He said that Samedi called up a demon and sent it to kill him, so he’d be out of the way. They want you, Charlie. They know who you are.”

“Samedi called up a demon to kill Angel?” Charlie’s demon voice seeped out through her lips, eyes pulsing red, and she spun to look out into the darkness. Everything Cassie had just told her poured through her mind, blending together, causing her soul to rend in pain and rage. She would hunt this demon down, and rip it to fucking sheds, but not until she forced it to give up Samedi’s location. For the first time, she felt no guilt for her feelings, only blind determination.

“And they know about you.” Cassie reminded her, body deflated in the chair, eyes closed while she tried to calm herself down, as well.

“I don’t give a shit if they know me, Cassie. I’m going to find that thing and kill it!” 

The tone and darkness in Charlie’s voice caught Cassie’s full attention, and she finally opened her eyes, gasping softly. As Charlie had been declaring her threats, her body had transformed, and it was the demon that Cassie saw filling out over the span of the roof. It was the first time Cassie got to see Charlie in her demon form, and she shivered. It wasn’t fear that caused the shiver, more like when you see something beyond your comprehension to understand, yet found yourself drawn in. Standing, Cassie walked over to stand close to Charlie, who’d turned around with demon eyes glowing bright, her rage paused and was replaced by a fear of her own. She realized as well that this was their first meeting with her in this form, and she needed Cassie more than ever and didn’t want her running away. Like her brother, though, Cassie had more than her fair share of courage and trust for Charlie.

“Charlie?” Cassie’s questioning voice whispered, “Are you there?”

Pulling herself together for the moment, Charlie drew some of her demon back into her and now stood before Cassie in her hybrid human-demon form. Teeth, claws, horns and tail meshed with the sweet, young blonde haired girl that Cassie knew as Charlie, and she nodded firmly, “I’m sorry you saw me without warning, Cassie. Even Amanda had more warning than this, but you didn’t run. Thank you.”

“I trust you, sweetie, but it did startle me. I should have asked to see what you looked like long before now, but it wasn’t important at the time.”

Charlie smiled for a moment, but it didn’t last, remembering what Cassie told her, “Are you sure Angel won’t heal all the way?” 

“Unless a miracle happens,” Cassie wiped a tear away, “He’ll likely be in a wheelchair for a while at the very least. We’ll have to call Amanda and let her know, and get her over here, soon. We’ll be at a disadvantage until then.”

Feeling her rage returning, Charlie turned and walked toward the edge of the roof, her body rippling with demonic energy, “I want that thing dead, Cassie! 

“Charlie! If you go after that thing in your rage, you’ll lose.”

Charlie growled deep, her red eyes blazed and fire sparked from her horns, “I will not lose, I will rip that thing apart!”

“Blind vengeance isn’t the way, sweetie, I know I can’t stop you, but you need to fight in another way.”

“What other way is there? I have my claws and that thing has no idea who it’s fucked with!”

“But they do, apparently. Angel says it called you the Princess of Hell! Do you understand what this means, Charlie? You’re a target. A royal target.”

“I. Don’t. Care!” Charlie growled darkly.

Cassie sighed in exasperation. Charlie was too far gone and Cassie feared for her life, all life if Charlie was killed, or worse, captured. She needed to help Charlie focus. Looking over to her dojo, she spied her BO staffs, and got an idea, “Look. You’re angry, deservedly so. I’m angry, too, Charlie. But in your rage, you’re going to fight blindly, and you’ll make mistakes. Every mission you’ve been on, Angel designed the playbook, used his mind, his wits, not emotions to carry them out.”

As she spoke, Cassie strode over and picked up the fallen wall and replaced it in its spot then grabbed the BO staves, continuing, “You need to find your center and calm your soul, Charlie, and fight for something much, much greater than revenge.” She turned and offered one of the staffs to Charlie, who glared at it.

“I don’t need no fucking stick!”

With a sigh, Cassie dropped one staff while positioning herself into a starting stance for a workout, “You fight with claws and teeth, just as the other demon will. If you want to best this thing, you need to change your style. Adapt.”

Charlie flicked her tail, her claws danced in air like playing keys on a piano, her heartbeat pumped fast with anger. Pointing her staff at Charlie, Cassie let out a slow breath to center herself. She realized she wasn’t getting through, “You won’t go in with brains…” Charlie hissed at the perceived insult and Cassie scoffed, “That’s not what I mean, sweetie, you’re going to go in on pure emotion… but the wrong kind.”

To prove her point, Cassie swiftly swung her staff out in a low, sweeping motion and caught Charlie’s legs, taking them out from under her, and she dropped on her ass, her tail getting bent in the process, “OW! What the fuck, Cassie?”

Ignoring her angry shock, Cassie stepped past her, spinning her staff. Charlie jumped to her feet and turned to face Cassie as she turned sharply, and snapped a command, “Defend!”

Still in shock from Cassie attacking her, Charlie put her hands up in a defensive manner, which allowed Cassie to strike by thrusting the staff out and under Charlie’s arm, lifting the staff up against her armpit and flipping her. Charlie crashed hard onto the rough surface of the roof, her breath knocked out of her. Cassie’s voice had taken on a sharp, military tone, “Listen! You need to concentrate and focus. Right now, your rage has control, and you’re blinded by your animus!”

“Fuck yes, I’m angry!” Charlie cried out, slamming her fist into the roof, putting a dent into it, while lifting herself to her hands and knees, tears burning her eyes,  “You’re beating me up with a stick! What the hell?”

Without a word, Cassie jerked forward and slid the staff along the roof, under Charlie and twisted it, clipping Charlie’s hands, and she sprawled face-first into the roof’s sandpaper texture. Charlie gasped in surprise and rolled to her side, looking at Cassie with a blend of fear and contempt. Cassie saw the look and knew she was finally getting to her. Pinning the staff down hard, she clipped Charlie’s tail, which born a yelp of pain and Charlie scooted back, “Cassie!?”

Plunging the end of the BO staff into the roof, Cassie took a deep breath, her eyes were serious, yet haunted, “ You’ve been relyin’ on your demon to frighten the ones you want to annul. Now you’re facin’ one that is your even, so rise above, or you’ll fall!”

Lunging forward, Cassie attacked again, but this time Charlie rolled away, and the staff met empty space. Using the muscles in her legs, she dug her cloven hooves into the roof’s malleable surface, and jumped to her feet. As Cassie lunged yet again, Charlie concentrated, calling the other staff to her, conjuring it into her claws. As Cassie brought her staff down to strike, Charlie blocked it and pushed it away, forcing Cassie to stumble back.

“YES!” Cassie cried out, chest heaving, and she grinned, swinging again. Charlie wasn’t trained or experienced, but with the BO staff, her demon strength made up some of it, and she blocked again, swiping the attack to the right and spun her body, thrusting her BO out to almost catch Cassie in the ribs. She missed, since Cassie was much more experienced, but Cassie felt pride that Charlie was taking her cues. 

“Hold the staff here, and here.” Cassie instructed as she backpedaled to give herself space. Charlie obliged her order and gripped the BO firmly, eyes narrowing at Cassie, who continued, “Imagine it’s a part of your body, both as an extension of your arms, but as a shield. BO staffs are resilient, tough, and can help deflect blows.”

Cassie let go with one hand and swung hard, letting the BO slide through her fingers until the end, which she gripped, and it turned her short arm-length swing into a nearly ten foot attack, which caught Charlie off guard and the end clipped her chin. Rather than scream in rage in pain, Charlie took a step back and rubbed her chin, nodding as she took the lesson face first, literally. 

“If you can control your anger, Charlie,“ Cassie explained, “You’ll be able to think through your attacks, plan the next one as you watch that fucking thing falter and stumble, and fuel yourself not with the rage of wanting to kill it. Think of Angel when you go after it. How much you love him! That you won’t let yourself lose the fight, or him!”

With that, Cassie rushed forward and Charlie blocked the attack in silence, as she put all of her heart, mind, soul into listening to Cassie’s instructions. Cassie was right, and Charlie was going to learn everything she could. For the next twenty minutes, the two sparred hard, rough, fast and violently but in a controlled manner. Cassie showed off different stances, techniques with the staff and as they sparred in an almost rhythmic dance, Charlie found herself becoming one with her BO staff, and began to fight back in ways that impressed Cassie. 

Cassie reminded her that love was more powerful than rage, and that if she could find away to rise above and be more than that thing, she was going to fight, she might actually have a chance. Their pace quickened, with Cassie going all out and attacking Charlie with abandon, pushing Charlie to her limits, which pulled more of her demon power from her, along with that fucking itch that had been nagging at her for days! The sudden burst of pain of the itch was more than she’d even felt before, and she gasped, the distraction letting Cassie swing her BO down hard, and Charlie jumped hard into the air to avoid it. As she did, she felt something snap inside her, and the itch was gone! Closing her eyes in relief, Charlie lost herself in the moment of fresh relief until she heard a loud, surprised gasp from Cassie. Opening her eyes, she looked for Cassie, but instead she saw the horizon in front of her, which should have been impossible. Other buildings surrounded Cassie’s rooftop dojo. The only way to see the skyline would be if she was…

“Charlie! Oh My God! They’re beautiful!”

The sound of flapping wings pierced her ears, and she looked down, where Cassie’s voice had come from, some twenty feet below her. Charlie twisted her head in shock, as bird like wings, s moved swiftly and softly behind her, the muscles in her shoulders instinctively flexing in controlled flight. The realization hit her and she dropped fast, shock having stopped the instinct until she caught herself at the last moment. Concentrating, her wings obeyed, and she landed with a soft click of her cloven hooves. 

With disbelief, Charlie touched one of the wings that came forward to greet her, “I have wings!?” Realization sunk in, and she turned to Cassie with wide, surprised eyes, “I have wings!”

Cassie dropped her BO staff and came forward and reached out, tentatively touching the wing Charlie was grasping. Charlie, in genuine glee, giggled, “Cassie! I have wings!”

“They’re amazing!” Cassie felt the soft feathers and noticed the sensation was like touching baby skin. 

“That feels good.” Charlie’s voice held a sexual tinge, and Cassie raised her eyes. Charlie blushed, “They’re very sensitive.”

Cassie blushed as well, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

Charlie shook her head, “No, it’s okay, they’re new to me, too.”

“You didn’t know?” Cassie let her eyes drift up and down Charlie as she walked around her, taking in the sight. Three pairs of wings, very un-demon like spread out from Charlie’s back. The middle wings were the largest, which she guessed had a six feet span on each side. The other two pairs, above and below, had less girth and length, but not by much.

“No!” Charlie ran her fingers through the feathery membranes, letting out a slow, soft, excited breath, the sensations both calming and exciting her, “But I’ve wished for them since the first night.” 

“They’re definitely not demon wings.” Cassie commented, “Are you remembering anything new?”

The sudden shift of question startled her. Charlie closed her eyes and thought, but shook her head after a moment, “No. I don’t get it. My powers are growing, changing, evolving, but I can’t remember anything! Why!?”

Charlie sniffed now, the excitement of her new wings smothered under the return frustration of the damned amnesia which chained her and kept her from Angel the way she dreamed. 

“Maybe because of the failed summoning?” Cassie mused, “It’s nothing like anything that’s even been tried before. I’ll look into it, later. Right now, there’s something much more important to focus on.”

Letting go of her wings, Charlie opened her mind and focused and felt her wings close in and wrap along her back, before a pop of vibrant light accompanied their disappearance. As she opened her eyes, she felt the itch just below the surface of her shoulders, again, but it was soft and gentle, as if freshly scratched and then it faded away. The relief of it was short-lived, as Cassie’s words connected with her, and she asked “What is that?”

“You have a demon to kill!”

Charlie realized her rage had dissipated, and even the reminder did not elicit the same reaction as it would have before. It hit her, along with the repeated BO strikes, that Cassie’s training had worked. In this, she was so grateful that she instinctively grabbed Cassie and embraced her.

“Charlie?”

“Thank you, Cassie!” Charlie sniffed, “You’re right. I would have died if I ran off blindly. You found me, and now I am more than I have even been, before.”

Cassie gripped her back quickly, before pulling away, “Listen, sweetie, when you go hunting that thing, remember it doesn’t want you dead. That means you not only have the advantage of your demon and your BO or wings, but it’s going to have to restrain itself. Use that. Force it to fight for its life. It’ll lose control, and that’s when you strike the killing blow.”

“Anger it,” Charlie nodded, “Make it be what I was going to be.”

“Exactly! Piss it off, but don’t let your own anger take control. Remember, you’re not going out there for vengeance.”

“I’m going out for love!” Charlie grinned, showing her sharp white teeth,“ My love for Angel.” Looking down, Charlie bent and picked up her BO staff, “But, I do have one request.”

“What is that?”

Handing the BO to Cassie, Charlie growled, but her tail swished in an almost wagging way, “I want something… sharper.”

With a smile, Cassie took the BO and nodded, “I think I have just the thing.”

Notes:

As I noted in the last update, this was the scene that bore the seed to all you'll ever read about the world of Angel's Demon, but this version is so much better than what I did, originally.

Cassie's mantra at the start is a re-write of the bridge in 'Out for Love', which was a lot of fun, and challenging to create.

While Charlie's powers are mostly canon to her abilities both seen and hinted to in the series, with invisibility being the biggest stretch I think, so far... it's been suggested she will eventually have wings. Since there's no idea yet what form they may take, I decided since she's Lucifer's daughter, she'd have wings much like her fathers. Knowing it could be years before we ever find out the facts of her evolved form, this will stay as my head-canon for the time being.

Next Chapter may be delayed. It's tax week and I'd actually forgotten about it for the last few weeks while living in this world, and I want the next chapter to be as polished and detailed as I can, after all, we can't short change Charlie's biggest moment so far: Charlie vs Rygen.

Chapter 26: Charlie vs Rygen

As the midnight hour passed, a bright circle of light flashed momentarily under the bridge where the attack had occurred hours earlier. When it faded, it revealed Charlie, wearing a new black t-shirt and jeans, and Cassie in a new blue blouse, standing near Cassie's damaged car. Both looked surprised.

“It worked.” Charlie whispered.

“How did you do this?” 

Charlie thought about it for a moment, “When I held Angel and felt his blood on my hands, and his body growing cold, all I could think of was you. How much we needed you. I wanted to be in the apartment. I imagined it, and then I heard your voice and we were there. Since I’d been here earlier, I could see this place in my mind, and bring us back here.”

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to try it,” Cassie felt a shiver along her spin, “however, I need to get the car out of here before the police come poking around. Since you brought Kevin with you the first time, I figured it should be possible to teleport another person.”

“Mmhmm,” Charlie absentmindedly agreed, her senses already on high alert.

“Charlie?” 

“I smell it. I remember now, that I could smell it when I was here the last time, but all I cared about was Angel. It took off in that direction,“ Charlie pointed West, “even though it’s been a couple of hours, its scent is still strong. Will you be okay getting the car home on your own?”

Cassie moved over to the front of the car and accessed the damage, “The front’s crushed in and the radiator’s busted. If it starts, I’ll have to nurse it home.”

“Check if it starts.” Charlie had crouched into a hunched position, similar to a lioness stalking prey. Claws, tail and horns now adorned her as her instincts to hunt felt like hunger pains in her stomach, “If it doesn’t, I’m taking you home before I find that thing!”

Cassie tried to open the driver’s side door, careful of the broken glass, and it wouldn’t budge.

“Charlie? Can you?”

Cassie stepped back as Charlie came over and grabbed the frame of the door and pulled. Creaking metal protested but yielded under Charlie’s strength and the door pried open.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell my insurance company.” Cassie sighed as she wiped shards of safety glass onto the floorboard, then slid in. Checking the key slot, she noticed the key was still there, so she didn’t need the spare she’d brought. Pressing down on the brake pedal, Cassie pushed the start button and the car came to life, shuddering in protest, but functioning nonetheless. Shifting into reverse, Cassie slowly depressed the brake and pushed down on the accelerator, and the car slid back from the pillar, grinding and shaking. Charlie stepped back onto the grass to give Cassie room to maneuver the car out from under the bridge before coming to a stop. Looking out the window, Cassie nodded, “I think I can get it home. If I drive slow enough, the battery will do most of the work, keeping the engine from running too much.”

“I should wait until you’re safe.” Charlie said, even though she was eager to start the hunt, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate if she worried about Cassie.

“No. I have my magics, and you know which way that thing went. I’m going to be fine. You need to stay focused, sweetie, though I still wish you’d just come home with me.”

“If I don’t hunt this thing down, none of us will be safe at home,” Charlie shook her head, “no, I need to take it out, tonight!”

“I know. I’m just scared for you.”

“I’m coming home to Angel, tonight. To you. I promise.”

Cassie held her hand out the window. Charlie gripped it tightly before stepping back and giving a single nod. Cassie nodded back and began to drive away. Charlie waited for the taillights to fade as Cassie made it to the main road. She only had a little less than four miles to go, and Charlie was confident she'd make it. She turned around and sniffed the air once more, catching the scent of the demon. Charlie slowly licked her lips, the faintest smile creeping into the corners of her cheeks. The scent held fear. Angel had hurt it, somehow, enough to drive it away. She'd have to ask him about that later, but for now, the only thing that mattered to her was that the scent was strong and easy to track. Closing her eyes, Charlie coaxed her power out, and she felt her wings unfold along her back. She shivered at the sensations that accompanied their arrival. So different from the itch that had preceded them. Charlie flexed her shoulder muscles and let the wings lift her up, and she soared high into the air. Angel would probably scold her for exposing herself like this, but the moon was hidden, and the shadows prevailed, obscuring her presence. When she reached an altitude of one hundred and fifty feet, Charlie turned in the direction of the demon's scent and took off in pursuit.

 

***

 

Nestled between the crook of a large cypress tree, half submerged in the swamp waters to sooth his burning blood, Rygen growled deeply while he licked the wound caused by Angel’s bullet. Digging his teeth into his tough fleshy skin, he bit around the metal casing and forcefully ripped it out, roaring from the fresh pain. Hot blood pooled into the murky waters, sizzling from the contact with the cold water, and Rygen cursed Angel for his injuries. However, he knew that the human would die from his wounds. Rygen had killed enough to know he’d struck a mortal blow, and this soothed his anger a bit. Still, it shocked him to smell the scent of the Princess of Hell upon him. The demon bitch that Samedi wanted was the royal daughter of Lucifer, herself, and this worried Rygen. Bound to Samedi, he had no choice but to carry out the Master’s command, which meant he could not just kill her, but he had to find a way to lure her to Samedi.  

“Why have you not come to collect your spawn?” Rygen whispered, talking to himself to distract from the pain, “I know you look for her. The rumors have persisted all through hell for some time that she was gone. Can it be that she is hidden from your vast power?” Rygen chuckled. Samedi was a fool for wanting to possess the child, for if Lucifer ever did find her, he would rend the master’s flesh asunder. Despite the over all kind nature of the king of hell, one knew to never fuck with his family, and now here was Rygen; on Earth, ordered to do that very thing. He did not like this, not one bit.

Rygen blinked and lifted his head up in a sudden movement, his nostrils flared at the sudden waft of familiar scent that blew in with the westerly breeze. She was near! Claws extending to their max, Rygen used them to climb up the Cypress’s trunk until he was clear of the marsh and perked his ears and closed his eyes. She was coming for him. This was unexpected and for the first time in his life, Rygen felt fear. He was not at full strength, and he could not kill her, but per his Master’s binding, he could only go toward her, not away, or he would suffer far worse than the pain of Angel’s spell. Tensing his muscles, Rygen knew he had no choice but to fight.

 

***

 

Engorged in her full demon form, a mass of blackness swirling through the marsh, Charlie bounded from tree to tree, her long claws emerging out of the dark flowing torrent of black hair to dig into the bark of each tree before pushing away to send her to the next tree. For a fleeting moment, she felt like that spider hero from the action movies Angel had shown her, and entertained the idea of getting her own catchphrase. Charlie growled and shook her head and refocused from the silliness of the though to remember she was out here to kill the thing that nearly took Angel from her. Still, knowing he was not going to die had calmed her soul, just as Cassie trained her, and she was formulating a plan for when she found the demon. Once she’d narrowed on his scent, hiding in the swamps some thirty miles from the bridge, Charlie had tucked her wings away and altered herself into the version of her that felt the most feral and least human, her body and hair became the most fluid of her forms, allowing her to move among the trees swiftly and quietly. She was well aware it would smell her as she got close, and she counted on that, as well. After some time, Charlie sensed he was close. Close enough to catch her scent, and it was time to put her plan into action. Folding her power in, Charlie morphed into her hybrid human-demon form, a girl with claws, horns, and a tail. Blonde hair floating own over her shoulders, Charlie gripped the side of a tree with her claws, leaning her body on a thirty-degree angle away from the tree, sniffing the air. Red demon eyes opened wide, they absorbed what little light the quarter moon provided as it peaked from behind the rolling clouds. 

“I know you’re out there, demon.” Charlie hissed, “I know you want me. Here I am.”

The chorus of night-life responded, but Charlie heard more than that in the mixture of noise. Raspy breathing moved between the trees off to her left, about seventy feet away, accompanied by soft splashes of water broken by beefy feet. The demon hunted her just as she was hunting it, and this was just what she wanted. Charlie licked her lips, tasting the air and the demon’s foul aroma, which was getting stronger.

“You failed,” Charlie’s demon voice carried her insult, “Angel lives. You are a pathetic excuse for a demon. Can’t even kill one little human.”

“You lie!” 

Charlie turned her attention to the source and smiled darkly. She had hoped it would be easily provoked. This would make her task so much easier, “Do you hear lies in my voice, demon scum?”

“The name’s Rygen, bitch! I want you to know the name of the demon that kills you!”

“Pfft.” Charlie swayed her body as she held onto the tree, hoping Rygen saw how little she took it seriously, “I’m the Princess of Hell, Rygie-baby. Do you really think you have a chance?”

“Fuck you. My master may want you alive, but he didn’t say in what condition I needed to bring you to him. I will show you just how powerful I am!”

“So, a liar and a failure, huh?” Charlie turned herself to grip the tree with both hands and easily scaled up to get a higher vantage point, sensing Rygen was moving in to attack, “You just told me you wanted me to know the name of my killer, but you can’t kill me, can you?”

“I can bleed you out, bitch, and let My master bind you and heal your wounds once he owns you. This way, you know who’s the Dominate demon here.”

“Ha!” Narrowing her eyes, Charlie saw the water ripple about thirty feet away and below her, “You couldn’t get it up enough to finish the kill earlier. I’d peg you as more of a power bottom. Pun intended!”

Charlie grinned at the resulting roar of rage preceding Rygen launching out of the darkness to slam into the tree she was perched against. The power of the slam was more than Charlie anticipated, and she lost grip with one clawed hand and had to dig her hooves into the bark to catch herself. She looked down as Rygen began to scurry up from below.

“BITCH! Fuck my Master’s orders! I am going to feast on royalty, tonight.”

Lunging for her, Rygen brought his meaty clawed paw down upon her, but Charlie was ready and jumped to the tree opposite her and grasped it and swung around to the other side, putting the trunk between her and Rygen. He was much easier to rile than she’d thought. Now she just had to get him to completely lose control and go feral.

“Come on Rygy-baby, you can do much better than that.” Charlie teased as she peered around the trunk and blew him a raspberry. With a scream of rage, Rygen launched and crashed into her tree, and again his strength was more than she’d prepared for. This tree was thinner and the impact cracked the trunk, and it began to bend. Thrown off position for a leap, Charlie had to regain her stance and in the moment of doing so, she felt Rygen’s claws rake down her left leg, and she screamed in pain. Panic took over, and she launched herself to another tree, misjudging the distance, and splashed hard into the murky, marsh waters below, striking her head on limbs protruding from the rippling water.

“Shit!” Thoughts scrambled through her head as she tried to regain her senses from the blow to the head. Coughing up dirty water she’d swallowed on impact, Charlie knew she’d underestimated Rygen’s rage. Pain ripped into her back as she felt Rygen’s body slam into her, sending them both under the water. Exploding into her full demon form, more fluid than her hybrid form, Charlie dispersed her body outwards and Rygen scrambled to find purchase on her skin. Roaring in rage, Rygen grabbed at her black seaweed flowing hair and pulled her roughly back to him. 

“Where you going, bitch!?” Rygen growled throatily, a raspy laugh gargled by spilling water from his large canine lips, as he dragged her back against him, and immediately regretted it as he felt Charlie’s claws thrust against his ribs and puncture his chest. Sharp teeth came down on his wounded shoulder, and he couldn’t believe the bitch bit him and responded in kind, chomping down hard on her arm. Both screamed in pain and rage and pushed against each other to break contact. Rygen laughed.

“Not so tough, are you, Princess? You look quite the mess!” Rygen eyed her as she backed against the broken tree, panting.

“Look in the mirror, asshole!” Her voice shook with pain.

“I’m tired of your attitude,” Rygen moved in the water, lining up for a final strike, “I’m going to rip you apart and bring your pieces to my Master. He can deal with figuring out how to put you back together.”

He heard true fear in her voice, “Please. I can’t fight anymore. I’ll go with you.”

Oh, this was too good to be true, not only had he won, she was bowing to him. Oh, how good she will taste in his mouth, now. “Too late, bitch. You had your chance. Let’s see who the power bottom is, now!’

Rygen lunged at full speed, aiming to break her spine, and shock took over as he watched large feathery wings explode from her back and she launched vertically into the air above him. Eyes upwards in surprise, Rygen didn’t see the tree until he crashed into it. As it was already damaged, the impact broke it in two and the top half tumbled over. Rygen tried to scramble, but the mud and water provided little grip, and he cried out in pain as the tree trapped him under it. Squirming to keep his head above water, he watched as Charlie conjured up what looked like a spear, and spun it to aim the sharp end downward! 

“This is for Angel!” He heard her shout as she came barreling down over him.

Rygen twisted his body and took the spear’s sharp tip into his side. Pain exploded all over him and Rygen howled out so loudly, people came out of their homes some twenty miles away to investigate. Suddenly, Rygen felt his body start to fade, and he felt his death was coming to greet him, and spit bloody saliva into the Princess of Hell’s face, “Pray I don’t resurrect back in hell, cunt, for I will have my revenge.”

Charlie wiped her face of his spittle, as she watched Rygen’s body turn to black smokey mist, her spear sinking into the muck below him, and hissed, “Try it, Rygen, and I’ll kill you again.”

Her words met thin air. Rygen was dead and gone. Charlie fell back against the broken tree stump, exhausted, yet a feeling of success warmed her cold, muck covered body. She’d won! She’d lured Rygen into a false sense of security and tricked it. The moment of euphoria faded along with the adrenaline that drove her, and sharp pain took over, and she winched. Her leg and arm were badly cut, and her body was bruised all over. Breathing hard, Charlie limped forward to climb onto the fallen tree trunk and looked herself over, seeing blood seeping through sludge and muck, and felt weak from the blood loss. Worried that if she used her healing power now, she wouldn’t have the strength to teleport, Charlie decided getting back home first was the best idea. Closing her eyes, Charlie imagined Cassie’s apartment, and wished to be there. Moments later, bright white light enveloped her body and when it faded away, she was gone.

 

***

 

Samedi sat with his legs crossed on the floor of his shack, in front of the summoning circle he’d used to call Rygen up from hell. Chanting in soft whispers, he fondled the charm that controlled Rygen, as his free hand moved over the circle in a semicircular motion. Soft blackish light began to illuminate the lines of the circle and from the light, black smoke misted into sight. The smoke grew in volume and size, taking shape and slowly forming into the hellhound, Rygen. Minutes ticked by as the body solidified agonizingly slow, but eventually finished taking corporeal form. Samedi stopped chanting and lowered his free hand until it settled on the leathery skin of the demon, and uttered a single word.

“Live!”

Breath burst from the demon’s foul mouth, followed by gasps and the coughing up of viscous swamp much, and its eyes burst open. Samedi smiled coldly. His demon wasn’t going to be that easy to kill.

Notes:

I wanted to choreograph a longer fight as I'd promised in the last chapters notes, and use more of Cassie's training, but time was not on my side this weekend, thus far. I expect I will do so in a revision and really give the scene the action it deserves. That I was able to get some real-life things out of the way sooner than I'd intended, I was able to post this chapter. I have a couple more chapters I want to complete this weekend, and so this one focused on the necessary bits.

Charlie's becoming quite the badass! She's going to have to be, considering Angel's condition and that Rygen isn't as dead as she thought.

I open up the following: If anyone wanted to write a longer battle sequence, I'd welcome the creative help. :)

Chapter 27: Miracle

Cassie sighed in relief as she entered her apartment, grateful that the car had made it back to the shop before it sputtered and gave out on her.  It had been touch and go, and she had worried all the way home about getting pulled over, but apparently the Goddesses were looking out for her tonight. Now she hoped they would look out for Charlie as well. Closing the door quietly so as not to wake Angel, she kicked off her shoes and was heading for the bathroom when she heard a rustling from the couch and a cough.

“Cassie?”

Angel’s voice held pain and weakness, but he was awake and Cassie came over swiftly to check on him, “How are you feeling, Kevin?”

Groaning, Angel gave her a weak smile, “Like my back was put through a blender on purée. How bad it is?”

Their rule was to never sugarcoat, so Cassie bluntly said, “Bad. Bad enough that I should have taken you to the hospital. My magics have it under control, but it’s likely you’re going to be in a wheelchair for quite a while. Maybe permanently.”

Silence responded, and she kneeled down by his side and moved strands of dirty hair aside to see his face, which held no emotion. She let him absorb what she said, waiting. 

When he spoke, it wasn’t about his back, “Where’s Charlie?”

Cassie paused. Despite their rule, she feared his reaction, and she put her hand on his chest as a precaution, “She’s hunting the thing that attacked you.”

His reaction was not what she expected, “I figured that’s why she wasn’t here, hovering over me.”

Angel’s eyes held sadness, and fear, but Cassie spoke firm, “She’s prepared, Angel. She’s better than that thing, by a mile! She’ll be fine, and she will come back. I finally got to see who she truly is. Nothing on this Earth has a chance when she’s at her peak, and she’s evolving so much. Don’t be scared for her.”

“I can’t help it. She’s my partner. We should be hunting that thing, together.”

“I know,” Cassie felt his forehead, and was relieved to feel no obvious fever. The magics were working so well, and Cassie knew she’d have to go talk to her mentors for training her so well, but she had to ask, “Why wouldn’t you let me take you to the hospital?”

“I’m safer here. With you. With Charlie.” Angel explained, voice fading in and out as his eyes closed, “At the hospital, if that thing really wanted to finish the job, so many innocent people would be put in harm’s way.”

“Your damned mind, thinking shit out even while dying.” Cassie softly cursed and admired her brother in one breath.

“I knew you’d save me, sis. I believe in your magics so much more, now.” Angel reached out, and she gripped his hand, “But? How did we get back here? I don’t remember anything.”

“Like I said, Charlie’s evolving. She teleported the both of you. It was amazing.”

“Teleported? Like in sci-fi movies? Damn.” Angel smirked, then coughed hard, and Cassie pressed down on his chest to keep him from moving too much. “Water?”

Nodding, Cassie went to the kitchen and filled a plastic cup half way and brought it back. With her help, Angel took slow sips before resting his head back on the pillow, “Thanks. Do you think I can move enough to get to the bedroom? This couch isn’t comfortable even in the best conditions.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Kevin.”

“Do you know if it’s not a good idea?” Angel quipped back, and Cassie had to admit if he’s got the energy to debate, maybe he’d be okay to move. Sighing, she put the cup down on the coffee table and pulled the quilt off of him. 

“Okay, but we’re going to do this slowly. Any sign of bleeding and you’re staying.”

For the next five minutes, Cassie helped support her brother as they worked their way down to the bedroom. She eased Angel into the bed, letting him lie on his side so she could check the bandages. Satisfied that the movement had held them in place, she helped him get comfortable, but she could tell that the move had been very painful.

“I’m going to give you some medicine to help you sleep. It’s a mixture of Motrin and a spell that will help you sleep and promote your body’s natural healing. Is that okay?”

“Thank you for asking. Yes, please. But will you please let me know when Charlie gets back, safely?”

“I promise.” Cassie affirmed, standing, “I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later, after giving him the medicine and watching him drift off into a fitful sleep, Cassie closed the bedroom door and went into the kitchen. She prepared a hot cup of chamomile tea, sat down hard in the kitchen chair, looked at the cup, pushed it away, laid her head on the table and cried.

 

***

 

Cassie didn't know how much time had passed when a flash of light startled her. She jerked her head up to see Charlie materialize in the apartment, falling to her knees covered in mud, dirt and blood. Pushing the chair away, Cassie ran over and knelt beside her, "Charlie!"

“I’m okay,” Charlie smiled through crusty strands of hair, her demon red eyes fading to reveal her soft yellow eyes, before falling into Cassie’s outstretched arms.

“You don’t look okay to me!”

“I killed it, Cassie. I killed the fucking thing. I’m more than okay. I just… I just have souvenirs from it.” Charlie touched the wound on her leg and grimaced. 

Cassie felt her body shake, “Why didn’t you heal yourself?”

“I needed the power to teleport.”

“Your wounds are deep, Charlie!” Cassie tried to get up to go grab something to press onto her wound, but Charlie stopped her, “Can you use your magics? I didn’t react badly to the powder?”

“Okay.” Cassie helped Charlie to rest her back against the couch. As Charlie watched her go collect the powder, she looked over her shoulder to the empty couch. 

“Where’s Angel?” Fear coated Charlie’s question.

“He’s safe in the bedroom. He wanted to be more comfortable. I gave him some medicine, and he’s sleeping well.”

Charlie nodded, her heart slowing down at the news, and she waited on Cassie to collect the powder from her cabinet. Coming back, Cassie kneeled and looked at the wound, “Shit. There’s so much dirt and crud, we should clean you up first. Can you walk?”

“I think so.” Charlie held out her arms and Cassie helped her stand. With Cassie’s support, Charlie let her guide her limping body to the bathroom. Once Charlie was safely propped against the wall, Cassie started the shower, and turned to access Charlie’s body.

“Are you okay if…?” 

“Please.” Charlie answered the unfinished question.

Cassie nodded and carefully helped Charlie undress, removing her soaked and torn black t-shirt and tattered jeans. Once they were tossed aside, Cassie helped Charlie into the shower, being careful not to splash her too much with the scalding hot water. Charlie, however, moaned gratefully as the water washed down against her bare skin. Cassie took the second detachable shower head and used it to wash directly onto Charlie's wounded shoulder and mangled leg, eliciting a loud cry of pain. Cassie flinched, but Charlie shook her head and encouraged her to continue. Carefully, Cassie helped Charlie wash away the dirt, grime, and mud she'd collected from the fight. Fresh blood pooled in the drain, but Charlie insisted on washing her hair first, which Cassie quickly helped her to do. Once her body seemed free of anything that could cause infection, Cassie grabbed three towels. One she gave to Charlie to wrap around her head, while she used the second to wrap around her damaged leg. The third was used to dry her body before it too became a dressing for her shoulder.

"Okay, lie down in the tub." Cassie ordered, and helped Charlie to obey. Once she was settled, Cassie opened the container of green powder and began to treat Charlie's wounds. Repeating the spell Charlie had seen her use earlier, the powder burned into her wounds and she cried out in more pain. Cassie assured her it was working and Charlie nodded through squinted eyes, fresh hot tears streaming down her cheeks. As the powder began to take hold, Cassie stepped out of the bathroom to get more bandages, tearing them up as she returned. Placing them along the wounds on her legs and shoulders, Cassie completed the spell, and they stuck to Charlie in much the same way they had to Angel.

“The bleeding’s stopped.” Cassie said in relief.

“Thank you, sis.” Eyes closed, Charlie didn’t realize what she’d said. Cassie warmed and flicked a few strands of hair from Charlie’s face.

“You’re welcome, sis.” 

Seconds ticked by before Charlie opened her eyes, “Would it be okay if I laid with Angel, tonight?”

“I think it would be good medicine for the both of you.” Cassie checked the dressings, “How long before you can heal yourself? Do you know?”

“It won’t be long, I don’t think. The shower and your magics have helped, a lot. I think this was more of a precaution since I’ve never been in a position to have to choose which power I use, first.”

“It may be a good idea to teach you the spell and have you keep some powders on your person for future missions.” Cassie thought aloud.

“Maybe,” Charlie agreed, “But right now I want to be with Angel.”

Cassie smiled softly, and helped Charlie out of the tub, “I’ll get you a nightgown from my room, though I don’t think Angel will mind you slipping into bed like this.”

A soft giggle escaped Charlie, but she felt no embarrassment, “Nor do I, but the nightgown’s more appropriate.”

Handing Charlie a fresh towel to finish drying, Cassie went to get the nightgown, pausing for a moment at the door to her bedroom to wipe away her tears. The emotions of the night had taken their toll, and it wouldn't be tea she poured herself after making sure her family was safe and asleep.

Shaking her head to clear it, Cassie collected the nightgown and returned to the bathroom to help Charlie put it on. She then led Charlie into the bedroom. When they entered, Charlie let out a soft gasp as she saw Angel for the first time since she'd been kicked out of the apartment. He looked terrible, despite the bandages and the magic, and she sniffed loudly. Cassie helped her to the other side of the bed and spoke softly, "He's resting comfortably, Charlie. You saved his life, remember that most of all."

Charlie didn’t feel much better at the reminder, her hand caressing over his shoulder as she settled into the bed next to him, “I should have been with him. If we hadn’t had that fight. If I’d just listened to his orders in the warehouse.”

“Stop it, Charlie. Please.” Cassie chided softly, “You can’t fault yourself for this.”

“Yes, I can!” Charlie growled softly, “We knew there was something out there. We knew they knew we existed. I swore I’d be his armor. I failed him, Cassie.”

“You. Saved. Him!” Cassie hissed, trying to keep her voice down, not wanting to wake Angel up, “Please focus on the good you do, not the evil others do.”

Not assured, but too tired now to argue more, Charlie shrugged a polite agreement, letting Cassie pull the blanket up over her tender shoulder. Cassie sighed as she stood, and Charlie turned her face, “I’m sorry, Cassie. I’m just so scared for Angel.”

Cassie leaned down and kissed Charlie on the forehead, “I am too, sweetie, but tonight, you two are safe and alive. Focus on that, please.”

“I promise.” Charlie felt Angel’s body move slightly at her touch and she decided it was more important to hold him and be grateful, “He’s here, in my arms, where he belongs. I won’t worry anymore, tonight.”

“Good.” Cassie stood and walked around the bed to Angel’s side. She leaned down and gave him a motherly kiss on the forehead, “Let me do all the worrying, tonight, for all of us.”

“Cassie?” Charlie lifted her head, eyes wet, “If I’m not allowed to worry, neither are you. You saved both of us. You’re our angel.”

A soft sob escaped Cassie before she could stop it, and she forced a smile, “I won’t let anything happen to my family. Now, go to sleep. That’s an order.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Charlie dropped her head on the pillow, holding up her hand and making a thumbs up, and Cassie silently approved as she closed the door.

Resting her head on the pillow, Charlie slid her arm across Angel's torso and pulled herself closer, careful not to press against his back, but to be as close as she dared. Sleep tugged at the edges of her consciousness, and with it, her body relaxed to the point where she could feel her power stirring deep within her. Along with the familiar sensation of strength that told her she was recovering quickly, the itch in her back tapped at her, and she accepted its request. Feeling her wings flow from her back and out from under the blanket, she lifted the top pair up and over her and Angel's bodies, becoming the armor she'd promised him before. As they settled, covering them like a shield from the world, her powers tingled stronger than she'd expected. It was as if they were guiding her, and she felt that she could now heal herself. A slight tug of selfishness bit at the back of her mind, scolding her for being able to heal while the man she loved might be broken forever, but she knew she'd need to be at full strength to protect him. Closing her eyes, Charlie let go and her power flowed out, her healing powers warming her skin. Her hair flowed around her face and her wings glowed, this being the first time she'd healed with them exposed. As she felt her shoulder and leg heal, she heard a soft gasp from Angel. Opening her eyes, she saw her wings draped over Angel, pulsing with a warm, soft white light that melted into Angel's body. Gasping softly, she saw his skin ripple, much like hers had when her wounds closed. Her heart beating faster, hope filling her soul, Charlie called to every inch of her body, her soul, her strength, begging for it all to pour out of her. The bedroom blossomed into blinding white light and the energy rippled along the bed, floor, walls and ceiling for a few moments before everything went completely dark again.

Silence followed, and Charlie held her breath for what seemed like forever, afraid to move, to see if what she’d hoped, actually happened. It was Angel that broke the silence, “Charlie?” his voice was solid, void of weakness, and he turned easily in the bed to face her, brushing feathers away, so their faces could see each other clearly, “What did you do?”

She could only answer in tears as she pulled him tight to her and kissed him deeply, sliding her arm around his waist and feeling his back, which was firm and healed, and as they broke the kiss, her breath stolen from her from their kiss, she gasped, “I healed you! Angel… I healed us!!”

Angel swallowed and moved himself to see how he felt and was surprised to find himself feeling… well, perfect. He then noticed he’d been annoyingly brushing feathers away for the last few moments, “Charlie? Are these…wings?”

She couldn’t help herself. Giggling, Charlie nodded excitedly, “I have wings, Angel! They came to me when Cassie helped me to focus, to fight in a better way.”

Angel lifted his hand and ran his fingers along the ridge of one of the wings, noticing the baby like skin texture and Charlie let out a low, sensual response, her body lifting slightly as her loins reacted, strongly. Angel noticed, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes.” Charlie let out a soft mmm, eyes closing in pleasure, “They’re very sensitive. Especially when caressed like that.”

“An odd erogenous zone.” Angel’s academic response caused Charlie to open her eyes, peering at him, playfully annoyed, “Is that your take on this?”

A slight laugh escaped Angel, and he shrugged, “Sorry, I’m just so amazed. You keep evolving. Cassie told me you teleported us here, saving my life.”

Charlie’s smile faded, “I’m so glad it came to me when I needed it. I don’t know how else I would have gotten you back here. You were in terrible shape, Angel, bleeding out so badly. Why Rygen didn’t finish you off, I don’t understand, but I’m so grateful.”

“Rygen?” 

“It’s what it called itself, before I drove a spear into it and killed it!”

“I’m glad you're safe, Charlie. I couldn’t bare losing you, either.”

“How did you escape Rygen?” Charlie needed to know, “He was a monster, he nearly had me.”

Angel paused, and Charlie sensed tension. Raising her head and giving him a serious look, she repeated, “Angel? How did you escape?”

Sighing deeply, Angel pulled the necklace out from under his shirt, “Cassie gave this to me the other night after the mission. It held a spell to drive a demon away in pain.”

“How did she know…” Realization slammed into her and Charlie pulled back from Angel, eyes hurt, “This was for me, wasn’t it?”

“After you swarmed down on me from the container, swooping me up, I told Cassie I was concerned about your growing power, that if you continued to manifest more and more demon like, versus your hybrid form, I couldn’t be sure how much you’d maintain control.”

He continued, seeing Charlie’s hurt eyes fighting not to tear up, hoping to impress upon her how much he trusted her, “I didn’t want to accept it, Charlie, but if I hadn’t, I’d be dead. I told her I trusted you, but I knew she was right. I had to be ready for anything that could happen.”

He knew if he kept explaining it would turn into excuses, so he stopped and watched her. Charlie closed her eyes and stilled her body, telling herself to calm down and think with her head, not her emotions. Yes, it hurt a lot that he had the necklace and that it was meant to hurt her if she tried to hurt him, but he was right. Angel never did anything that wasn't thought through with wisdom and preparation. That was why he was so good at what he did, and why she loved being his partner. He was also right. If Cassie hadn't given him the necklace, he would be dead. Losing him would have killed her. Knowing about the necklace was just a little insulting. Opening her eyes, she gave him a very strong look of understanding, and she saw his shoulders relax.

“I understand. Yes, it hurt at first, but I get it. My powers are evolving faster than I can keep up with them. In one night I teleported, gained wings and discovered I can heal others, not just myself. These are all new to me, and if it hadn’t been for Cassie knocking some literal sense into me, I would have flown off in a rage, possibly get myself killed, or lose myself and become the very thing we fight against. I need more training with Cassie, to find my center.”

Lifting the necklace with her fingers, Charlie caressed the beads, “I will thank Cassie in the morning. This saved you when I couldn’t.”

“You saved me, Charlie, “Angel corrected, “This just postponed the inevitable so that you could.”

“I should have been with you. Been your armor.” Charlie repeated softly what she’d told Cassie.

“What we do comes with risk, Charlie,” Angel reminded her, “We need to focus only on what we can do, not what we can’t.”

“I’ll try. But I’m never leaving you, again!”

“Promise?”

Charlie looked at him oddly, the tone in his voice held something she was unsure she understood, “Yes, of course. Why?”

“Because,” Angel knew there was no better time than this moment, “I love you, Charlotte Morningstar. More than anything in this, or any other world, I love you. I said what we do comes with risk, and that should include whatever may happen with us. Even the physical.”

Charlie blinked, taking a moment to make sure she’d heard him correctly, it was the first time he’d said the words to her, and she let her tears flow, “I love you, too, Angel!”

The kiss that followed swallowed them both up as their hands slipped around each other, pulling their bodies into the tightest embrace they could manage. They lost themselves for moments, before Charlie broke the kiss first, “Does this mean we can…?”

“If you’ll have me?” Angel replied, caressing her cheek, lovingly.

With a soft laugh of relief, desire and longing, Charlie found herself surprised by her next words, “I want too. But… I’m so exhausted.”

A pause preceded Angel’s throaty laughter, which Charlie joined in as she dropped her body onto him, her own shaking in laughter. Tension drained from the both of them as they held each other, their laughter faded into soft mmms of comfort. 

“I admit, I don’t want our first time making love to be us falling asleep in the middle of it.” Angel quipped softly.

“I want to be at full power, in all ways, when I have you, my love.” Charlie grinned as she traced a finger up and down his chest. Angel shivered at the idea, his groin stiffening despite being exhausted, and he seriously contemplated asking for a taste then and there. But his Princess of Hell told him she wanted to be all she could be for him, after recuperating fully, so he knew they’d have to wait. 

Kissing her forehead, Angel softly caressed her back in return, sharing his thoughts, “I can’t wait.”

Nestling her body next to his, Charlie tucked her head along his shoulder and he wrapped himself around her. Kissing one more time, she whispered, “Neither can I.” 

It took less than a minute of soft caressing, with eyes closed, for the two lovers, now a couple, to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Notes:

Oh, come on. You knew Angel wouldn't be out of action for long, did you? :)

Chapter 28: Evil Plans

Samedi moved in the darkness, illuminated only by the black candles that he’d lit to bring Rygen back to him, to sit in an old rickety chair in the corner of the shack. The summoning and resurrection spells had taken more energy out of him than he’d expected. It was his first experience having to heal a demon he’d summoned, and he did not like it. 

“Next time,” Samedi thought to himself, “I’ll just let them die and call up a new one.”

His malicious thoughts were magnified due to Rygen’s incompetence. Before he allowed the demon to rest, he interrogated it, and learned that it had failed to kill Angel or lure the Princess back to the shack, where a fresh circle of blood lay at the only entrance inside, now wasted. Peering into the middle of the shack, where Rygen slept, breath labored, Samedi contemplated sending it back to hell, anyway. Unfortunately, Bible’s last call put him on a short timeline, and he had to have the demon ready by the morning to send it on its next set of tasks. Smirking darkly, Samedi leaned over the side of the chair and picked up a loose board and pried it off the floor. Hefting it to feel its weight, he chucked it at Rygen, and the rotted piece of wood smacked into Rygen’s freshly healed shoulder.

Eyes snapped open and Rygen roared, less in pain and more in rage, and quickly shifted his body, putting his canine legs under him and spun, eyes pulsing blood-red, staring deep into Samedi. Claws dug into the cracked wooden floor, and Rygen tensed his muscles as if to pounce, until a thought distracted him, “I’m alive?”

“Indeed. Alive, and a failure.” Samedi mocked.

If he intended to rile the demon, it failed as Rygen cracked his neck and searched for the pains that the Demon Princess had inflicted, and found none, “You resurrected me?”

“Only because it would have taken longer to find and summon a replacement.” Samedi’s voice continued to mock, but Rygen found it humorous to irritate his master by not responding. Rather, Rygen pulled his power and shifted into his human form, the tall elegant well-dressed man, and offered a bow to Samedi.

“It seems you have more power than I expected, Master.” Rygen grinned, “It will make tasting your flesh when I am free of your bonds, so much sweeter.”

“You may imagine it all you like,” Samedi coldly returned a smile of his own, “If you manage to survive and carry out your next mission, without fucking up so egregiously, perhaps I will send you back to hell in once piece.”

“We can play these games all night, Master, but as I am under your command, I am forced to share with you what I know. The man called Angel had a spell, cast by a powerful Wiccan, which nearly killed me. It is your own magic that forced me to retreat, or I would have failed you.”

“And this is why you could not subdue the demon princess, letting her nearly kill you?”

“I let nothing of the sort happen. She isn’t like the princess I’ve heard about. She had wings and powers I could not have imagined. She will not have the upper hand, next time.”

“There won’t be a next time, demon. Bible has informed me that we will be changing up our initial plans. You are to first eliminate a couple of nagging loose ends; A bitch named Amanda Sims, who is a close friend of Angel’s, and her boss, Michael Stefon. Bible has made arrangements for you to carry both of those hits out in short order. ”

“Sounds delicious.” Rygen smiled, already imagining the taste of their flesh on his tongue, “And then?”

“You will go to where Angel rests, kill anyone who gets in your way, and bring him back to me. You may use any and all of your demonic tricks to accomplish this, but do not confront or kill the demon princess. Angel will be our bait, and we will bring her to us.”

“Tricks?” Rygen smiled darkly, and Samedi watched his form shift until it was Angel that stood before him, “Do you like this trick?”

“You can imitate others?” Samedi felt himself a bit impressed, “This is one power I did not know demons possessed.”

“Not all demons do. We hellhounds are of one of the few types who can freely change our form. Even the Princess of Hell does not know this power. I can use this form to get close to anyone in her circle. Since I tasted Angel’s blood, taking his form was easy.”

“Very good. It will allow you to get close to the Sims woman, as well.”

“Yes, and once I feast on the Sims woman, I will be able to imitate her, as well.”

“It seems, for a hellhound, you may be more suited to subterfuge than outright attacks. If I had known this, we would have forgone the initial plan, altogether.”

“Who’s incompetent now, Master?” Rygen/Angel laughed at Samedi’s face, which had gone red with rage, and it took a moment for him to get his emotions under control.

“Be careful, demon. Your value has limits.”

“Be careful, Master. Your power over me has limits.” 

Both stared darkly at the other, threats clear and promises silently made. Samedi waved his hand dismissively, “I have called up demons worse than you, mutt, but I will allow you to feel in control for the time being.”

Rygen/Angel rolled his eyes, yet knew Samedi also held power he should not be testing. He would have to control his ego, if he was ever to return to hell, alive, and chose to tone it down, “It serves neither of us to continue this, Master. I will obey your commands. When it is complete, send me back to hell, and we can forget the other ever existed.”

Samedi nodded subtly, also aware that the tug of war was not going to serve his purpose, “We shall see. It is hours before the sun rises, so I suggest you rest and regain as much of your strength as you can. Bible will be sending Stefon to Sim’s hotel in the morning, and you will need to be in position before then.”

Shifting his form to return to his natural demonic hellhound form, Rygen moved to the far end of the shack, where the darkness swallowed him, and laid down, shifting his blood-red eyes towards Samedi, who stared back unblinking. It would be sometime before either one ended the staredown. 

Chapter 29: Charlie's Morning Flight

Charlie awoke to the sound of a dawn chorus of Blue Jays outside the cracked window and a soft warm breeze tickled the curtains' edges. The fairest hint of pre-dawn light had begun to mix with the night’s blackness, and Charlie yawned softly and stretched gently so as not to stir Angel from his peaceful and much-needed slumber. She laid there for a moment, absorbing Angel’s body heat, so very grateful she’d been able to heal him. She listened to the birds outside, imagining them singing, dancing, and flying. A thought suddenly swelled in her mind, and a smile warmed her cheeks. Sliding carefully off the bed, her bare feet pressing into the carpet which felt extra nice this morning, Charlie quietly opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, gently closing it behind her. She listened for Cassie, her keen ears picked up her soft breathing, as she had not yet awoken. With childlike eagerness, Charlie left the apartment and took the stairwell to the roof. 

Stepping out into the warm morning air, Charlie noticed that a thick fog had formed from the morning’s mix of humidity and dew point, and this pleased her even more. She shut the door behind her and moved to the center of the roof where Cassie had taught her how to fight for love, thankful for her guidance. Closing her eyes and drawing in a long deep breath, she exhaled slowly and as the last of her captured breath escaped, she opened her eyes and grinned as her wings unfurled magically from under her silver white nightgown. 

Lifting herself onto the ledge, cloaked by the thick fog, Charlie flexed her wings and lifted off the roof. Gracefully, she flew up in a forty-five-degree angle, moving away from the roof and into the sky. The fog danced around her, hugging her, keeping her safe from gazing eyes. With firm, repeated pulls of her muscles, she controlled the upward momentum from the thrusts of her wing as she broke above the fog. As she splashed through the last swirling mist of fog, Charlie was greeted by the morning dawn, as the sun broke through on the horizon. The warmth bathed over her, warming her in its loving embrace. Lifting herself even higher up, a single bright ray illuminated her, casting an ethereal glow around her. With her wings moving at full strength, Charlie felt so much more like an angel than a demon and flew up higher and higher, until the sun’s glow enveloped her and she disappeared.

 

***

 

Back in the bedroom, Angel woke from a deep, restful sleep and peered behind him to the empty space in the bed. Figuring Charlie had risen earlier and left him to rest in peace, he rolled back on his side and nestled his head into the soft pillow, closing his eyes. A moment later, a soft flash of light illuminated the room, and startled, Angel opened his eyes and felt a presence behind him. Turning his head, he found Charlie sitting there in the bed, her wings furling down and tucking away.

“Hey.” Angel softly said, figuring he must have dozed off and she’d come back. Charlie nestled herself against him, careful to tuck her amulet out of the way, lest she poked him with it, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay, love.” Angel smiled as she caressed his chest from behind. 

“Did you sleep okay?” Charlie rubbed her nose into his back, feeling how firm and muscular it felt, grateful he was better.

“Best sleep I’ve had in years,” Angel admitted and yawned loudly. 

“Sounds like you could use some more.” Charlie giggled, both from the moment and the feeling of her morning flight. She would have to do that, again. A lot!

“Sorry.” 

“No!” Charlie smiled, “Please, sleep as much as you can. I’m going to go see if Cassie’s awake. I want to learn more Tai Chi. Learn to control my power.”

Reaching her hand over him and down between his legs, she brushed her hand over his groin, teasing, “For all the right reasons.” 

Angel moaned softly, his body reacting to her touch, “You better go before I do things to keep you here.”

With a long mmmmm whispered between pursed lips, Charlie slid from the bed, walked around, and leaned in to share a deep kiss. Lifting herself off the bed, Charlie winked, “Gather your strength, my Knight, you’re going to need it, soon.”

Turning around, Charlie wiggled her ass at Angel and skipped to the door before he could grab it, her spirits high, and Angel laughed and blew her a raspberry as she left the room.

When Charlie closed the door, she turned to see Cassie outside her own bedroom door, looking surprised, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I could have sworn I heard Angel laugh. Is he?”

Running up to Cassie, Charlie embraced her, squealing, “I healed both of us, Cassie! When I pulled my power to heal, it flowed into him. Angel’s okay!”

“What?” Cassie’s body froze, shock hitting her, and she pushed back from Charlie to look her in the eyes, “He’s okay? He’s really okay!?”

Charlie nodded with glee, but her smile dropped along with Cassie, who fell to her knees, sobbing. Charlie dropped with her, took her into her arms, and let Cassie cry out all the pain and sorrow she’d had to hold onto all night long. Sudden shame washed over Charlie, and she kicked herself mentally for not rushing to tell Cassie right away. After everything, she’d fucked up by not sharing the news with Cassie, and she broke, “Oh, my God. Cassie! I’m so so so sorry! I was so happy Angel was okay, I didn’t think!”

She felt Cassie’s head twist from side to side, accompanied by her fists softly punching Charlie’s shoulders, and her voice seeped out from between the folds of Charlie’s silver-white nightgown, “You amazing bitch. You made me suffer, you saved his life, you’ve made me so happy, I’m so angry with you.” 

Charlie felt the corner of her lips rise, and she followed her lead, “I’m the best bitch, I’m so sorry I made you suffer, I’ll always protect him, I’m glad you’re happy, and you can be as angry as you want with me, I deserve it.”

Finally, Cassie sat back on her heels, brushing her hair out of her eyes and wiping them, “Your powers are amazing.”

“And growing. Will you train me? Really train me? I want to learn so much more from you, tease more out of me, and maybe my memories will come with them.” Charlie asked, reaching up to grasp her amulet.

Sniffing, Cassie nodded, “Of course.” She added in a snarky tone, “And maybe you can learn telepathy as well.”

“Telepathy? Why?” Charlie cocked her head, confused.

“So the next time, you can tell me when you do this shit!” Cassie quipped as she playfully punched Charlie’s shoulder. 

Charlie responded by letting her demon eyes glow, along with a soft smile of sharp white teeth, “Then let’s go find out what else I can do!”

Chapter 30: Rygen Feasts

Notes:

Warning: Sexual Visuals and Gore.

Snuffing out the last cigarette from her empty pack into the ashtray on the balcony, Amanda Sims stood up and stretched, and let loose one last yawn. She finally caught a good night’s rest after a long day of phone calls, emails and favors called in, and she’d collected a lot of valuable information. Unfortunately, none of it had any direct ties to Bible, but she’d hoped that by pouring over the specific cases of rescued children, drugs and weapons busts over the past year they’d find a link they could pursue.  

It certainly helped her feel better to have cleared the air with her lover, Ethan. They’d talked on the phone again for an hour before she called it a night, and they made plans to go away for a couple of weeks when this all blew over.  Up until that moment, she had not realized just how much he really meant to her, and she planned to make it up to him, big-time, for the way she had used him over the past couple of years. Still, she had little regret doing what she needed to do to help Angel, and she hoped Ethan would come to understand her reasons and motivations. 

Angel. Now he had Charlie, and she saw the way the two had looked at each other, a look that she and Angel had once shared. While there would always be a tiny grain of jealousy, it wasn’t nearly as strong as she’d feared, and it reaffirmed she’d moved on and was grateful for it. She wasn’t even going to let the knowledge of what Charlie was, get in the way of doing her very best to help them find and eliminate Bible, once and for all. 

Stepping back inside, Amanda went over to the bed and picked up her phone that was sitting amongst the messed up sheets, selected Angel’s number and pressed call. Only one ring came through and then his voicemail answered. Squinting her eyes, a flash of concern trickled into her mind, but as Angel’s recorded voice finished and the auto-voice went through its annoyingly long list of options, she heard the beep.

“Hey, Angel. I have all the files I could get from D.C. and the local field office downloaded, printed and on disc. I’ll be leaving her in about half an hour and meet up with you all at the shop. Give me a call back if you want me to pick up coffee or breakfast along the way. Bye.”

Hanging up, Amanda dropped the phone in her purse, sat it next to the briefcase and was about to go use the bathroom when there was a knock at her door. She paused. No one knew where she was staying except Angel and Stefon’s office, and after being suspended, she figured they’d call her in for any briefings. Since they’d taken her piece, all she had left was a small SIG Sauer P938 pocket gun she always carried in her purse. Fetching it, she tucked it in her waistband and stepped to the door, “Who is it?”

“It’s Angel.” The familiar voice came from the other side, and Amanda peered through the peephole, surprised to see Angel standing in the hallway. With a twist of the main lock and a flip of the secondary security latch, she opened the door with a smile.

“Angel! I just tried to call you. I was about to leave for the shop” She backed away to let him enter, and he gave her a warm smile, coupled with a look she hadn’t seen from him since the days they had dated, and she felt her cheeks warm.

“Sorry. My phone got smashed last night and I haven’t had a chance to get a new one.” Angel looked around the room as he spoke, as if surveying it. He turned and gave her the same warm smile, but Amanda suddenly felt unease. His smile did not reach his eyes. 

“Smashed? How?” Amanda stayed by the door, but Angel waved her in towards the bed.

“Long story. Did you find out anything about Bible?”

“I did collect some files.” Amanda pointed to the briefcase, “Which I figure we can all pour over together this afternoon. How’s Charlie?”

“She’s fine.” Angel said, dismissively, “But that’s why I came over. I figured we could look over the information, alone.”

“Alone?”

“Sure. I mean, we’ve not had a real chance in a very long time to spend some time together. I miss the old days with you.”

“What?” Amanda blinked, “Angel? What do you mean?

“Oh, come on, Amanda. We had so much fun back before I went into the service, and I never, truly ever forgot about those days, or us.” Angel’s voice turned thick with desire, and he stepped up to her, raising his hand to slide along her cheek, “And I’m pretty sure you haven’t either.”

“Angel. You have Charlie, now. Why are you acting this way?” While she felt unease, his words rang true. She’d moved on, but she hadn’t forgotten, and his sudden affection triggered certain memories. Memories and moments that interfered with her reasoning.

“Charlie’s nice and all, but she isn’t you. We could solve this case, ourselves, get you back in good graces with the Agency, start up again? I’m tired of being rogue. Working with you brought back too many good memories.”

Amanda was dumbfounded in the moment, and tried to get her brain working. Something was causing her body to stir, which went against everything she’d just figured out with Ethan, and letting Angel go entirely. His hand on her cheek was so warm, and she felt it slip down onto her shoulder, and then lower to her breast. She gasped softly and peered up into his brown eyes, “Angel?”

“Shhh”, Angel quietly ordered. He bent his head as he lifted her chin with his other hand, and she felt his lips press firmly against hers. The kiss was electric, sparking vivid memories of their teenage love-making, and her body melted in it. Guilt, lust, greed, shame all blended together. For years and years, she bottled away the feelings she’d had for Angel, and that bottle shattered the moment his lips touched hers. Yet, in the back of her mind, warning bells were going off that her sexually charged brain would not heed. Letting her head droop back, she felt Angel’s mouth slip down her neck, nipping, licking, and she let out a loud moan of pleasure. She felt his free hand slip between her legs, and her loins responded with a powerful ache of need. Her body seemed to lose all sense of control when his hand ripped away the top of her blouse and pulled her bra down to expose her left breast. Shocked by his violent movement, it only raised the level of her horniness, and she did not care what he did to her clothes, or her, in the moment. Hot gasps of pleasure blew from her lips as she felt his mouth clamp around her nipple. His tongue danced on it, teasing it, bringing it to full attention. Angel’s other hand nearly lifted her off her feet as he pushed upwards against her groin, and she felt herself fall backwards onto the messed up bed.

“Angel… oh, my God, Angel… I’ve missed you!” Amanda moaned, her eyes shut tight, tears dripping down the sides of her face from a mixture of desire and regret. Her hands reached up to grab Angel’s back, to caress his body as he moved in on her, and that is when her mind clicked. 

It wasn’t a shirt that she felt in her hands, but fur. Thick, matted, greasy fur, and she opened her eyes and tried to scream, but a clawed hand locked itself over her mouth. Licking her bare nipple was not Angel, but a creature of pure horror, a bulldog shaped face with blood eyes stared back at her, grinning madly. Lifting its mouth from her nipple, which was now bleeding, the thing licked its long tongue across gross, blackish lips, “You may be the sweetest piece of meat I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting, human. I can’t believe Angel let this go.”

Muffled cries seeped through his claw as Amanda struggled uselessly to move, and Rygen just grinned, even more, “Since I was dragged onto this hellish realm called Earth by the pathetic human, Samedi, I have been shot, cursed and nearly killed by the very Princess of Hell, herself. Yet, despite all of that, I shall make you a promise that I do not often grant many of my victims. Your death will be quick.”

He leaned down and sniffed her skin, delighting in the strong aroma of fear mixed with latent sexual desire that wafted from Amanda’s bare skin of her breast. He drew his long, wet tongue along the nipple again, smirking at her body's mixed reactions, and laughed. He let his clawed hand slide away from Amanda’s mouth, interested in what she would say.

Amanda gasped, as fresh air mixed with the foul smell of Rygen’s claw drew into her lungs and she coughed, hard. Through the coughing, she spit out, “What the hell are you? Let me go!” 

“You may call me, Rygen, sweet meat. Be assured, your death will be the only one I grant quickly. Angel, for what he did to me. The bitch Princes, what SHE did to me? Their fates will be so much worse.”

As she’d been struggling without success to get out from Rygen’s grip, Amanda had managed to get her one hand down behind her back to her waist, where her small hand gun had been slipped. Praying strongly, while she could keep the demon talking, she pulled it free, “Why me?”

Rygen chucked, “Why, to hurt them, of course. They will know what I did to you, in all its gory detail, and they will suffer… oh, and it will be so beautiful.”

Gritting her teeth, Amanda hissed, “So will you, asshole!”

With a grunt, Amanda pulled her arm free and lifted her hand up, pointing her gun into Rygen’s face. Before she could pull the trigger, however, white-hot pain flashed across her eyes and she screamed. She screamed only for a moment before Rygen’s claw slammed down onto her jaw, breaking it. Her eyes darted to her arm, which ended halfway between her elbow and her wrist. The rest of it was gone, having been swallowed down Rygen’s gullet. She felt his claws squeeze into her cheeks, piercing the skin, and copper blood began to leak down the back of her throat. Agonize fear, pain and defeat closed in on Amanda as she watched Rygen rear back, laughing, “Oh, my, little meat, you almost had me! But you may thank Angel in the afterlife, for he taught me that to be ready for such trickery. Don’t worry, though. I will keep my promise!”

With that, she watched in horror as Rygen’s jaws opened up far greater than they should have been able too, and the last thing Amanda Sims saw, was the back of Rygen’s throat before all went dark. For good.

 

***

 

Special Agent in Charge Mike Stefon stepped out of the elevator of the hotel where Amanda was staying and looked at the numbers to direct him down the correct hallway. He was in a foul, foul mood. Bible had called back and instructed him to go see Amanda, personally, in the morning to debrief her entirely about the events at the warehouse, collect any and all files she may have gathered. Files he knew she’d been able to get with favors pulled, and then send her back to D.C. for good. Bible had mentioned it may be best to eliminate her, but for once, Stefon was able to convince him it would cause more trouble to explain her disappearance. What bothered him though, wasn’t the order or that Bible relented on the extreme measures, but how jovial and rather benign the call had been. It was not at all like Bible, but perhaps finally, he saw the value in Stefon’s position and backed off. Perhaps it would lead to a bit less stress in the future, having to work for such a crime-boss. Following the numbers until he reached Amanda’s room, Stefon steadied himself for the confrontation, and knocked.

He waited for a couple of moments, then knocked again, 

“Just a moment.” He heard Amanda’s voice, and nodded quietly in response. 

Listening, he heard some movement in the room, then soft footsteps coming toward the door. He heard the locks click as they were undone and the door opened. Amanda, dressed in a see through nightgown, stood unabashedly before him, dabbing what appeared to be ketchup with a napkin from her lips, “Why, Mike, what brings you here this morning?”

“Miss Sims.” Stefon stuttered and averted his eyes, “Do you greet all your guests in this manner?”

Amanda looked down and smiled, “It’s quite the conversation starter, don’t you think, Mike?”

“You’ll address me as Agent Stefon,” Stefon said in a stern voice, while he trained his eyes on the edge of the door frame.

“Oh, so business like. You caught me finishing breakfast, but I’ve yet to have dessert. Why don’t you come in?”

“Shouldn’t you put on something more decent?”

“I promise, I will. Please, just come in. My food’s getting cold.”

With a sigh, and eyes still looking anywhere but at Amanda, Stefon stepped past her and into the room. As he felt he’d not have to stare at Amanda, anymore, he let his eyes drop towards the room and caught sight of what was on the bed, and he gasped loudly. He could barely make out what he knew in the moment were the remains of Amanda Sims. Her head was gone, as was most of the right side of her body. Entrails draped over the side of the bed, which was soaked in a pool of warm blood. “What in the hell!?”

“She wasn’t the most gourmet meal I’ve ever had,” Amanda’s voice blended into something darker, sinister, and Stefon spun around in shock to see Rygen, in all his hellhound glory, settling down from his bi-pedal human form int a more comfortable stance, “So, I really hope you’ll be a tastier dessert. Oh, and Bible sends his regrets. He really did like you.”

Stefon never had a chance. Rygen launched and, with a swipe of his massive claws, tore open Stefon’s stomach and bowels as he clamped his massive jaws over the Agent’s face and squeezed. Brain matter and skull bits burst like ripe melons. Rygen mmmmed at the delicious taste of FBI agent, and for the moment, didn’t much care that he was bound to Samedie. Humans were quite delicious.

Notes:

I knew the moment I gave life to Amanda that her time would be short. But there were times I wondered about changing the story to let her live. She didn't have a whole lot of time in the story, but she grew on me. I hoped I gave her a personality and drive that made the reader cheer for her, so her death has more meaning, and makes Rygen all that more a serious threat.

As Angel's Demon is an experiment to see if there is an original world I can create and pursue a few novels to legitimately publish, maybe Amanda will find life in them.

But, for now; R.I.P. Amanda Sims.

Chapter 31: I Owe You A Few Bruises

Mid Morning sunlight softly illuminated the bed, warming Angel's cheeks. He opened his eyes, shielding his face with an arm, and rolled to his side, away from the window. It took a moment for the fact that there was no pain to really register, and memories of the previous evening returned in spades. The attack, Charlie saving and later healing him. Angel shook his head softly, amazed at how powerful Charlie was becoming, and after all that happened, he no longer feared that she’d even turn on him. Clutching the beaded necklace around his neck, he lifted it up and over his head, opened the nightstand drawer, and dropped it inside. Sitting up, Angel stretched and yawned loudly, feeling his muscles move under his skin, and it felt good! Standing, he collected some clothes from the dresser and decided on a quick shower, so he could go see his favorite ladies practice.

 

***

 

Clouds had rolled in and blocked out a part of the sun’s rays, which felt nice to both Charlie and Cassie, as they’d been focused on training for nearly two hours, sweat beaded on their brows. 

“Okay, Charlie, for this next one, I’m going to show you how to skip-catch. This is good for balance and concentration, and I think with your power, it will make a good defensive posture.” Cassie held her Bo Staff out horizontally in front of her, and Charlie, standing face-to-face with Cassie about ten feet apart, mirrored her movements.

“Like this?” Charlie asked as she followed, and Cassie nodded approvingly.

“Yes. Now watch me.” Cassie started slowly so Charlie could see her hand placements, then began to pick up speed. Charlie whistled softly at the precise movements and Cassie’s technique and tried to keep up but dropped the Bo twice, and her demon voice growled with frustration.

“Easy, darlin.” Cassie smirked, “It’s okay to mess up when you’re learning.”

“I just want to know everything so I can protect Angel better.”

“Then don’t think ahead; stay in the moment. Watch.” Cassie repeated the beginning steps, and Charlie narrowed her eyes to watch every twist and how Cassie would cross her wrists, with her upper hand turning her palm up to catch the staff and twist it to her lower hand. Charlie’s eyes widened as Cassie’s movements got faster and faster, until the spins looked to Charlie like the propeller of an airplane.  Cassie kept going and nodded for Charlie to try again. Charlie started with the movements and picked up speed, her demon reflexes coming out as she let herself trust herself. Soon, it was Cassie who whistled in awe as Charlie was spinning her staff so fast it became a blur, and Cassie felt the wind from the power of her twists.

“Damn, girl.” Cassie smiled, “You got it!”

Charlie giggled as she stopped and bowed to Cassie appreciatively, “I think I understand now. Focus on the grip and stance, and let the motions repeat fluidly.”

“Exactly, sis.” Cassie said, impressed, and Charlie blushed, “Let’s try this one. It’s called ‘Let the pinkie lead the way’. With this one, you can modify it to take out those in front and to your sides.”

Cassie demonstrated again slowly, but Charlie was catching on faster and faster, and after a while and a few other techniques, Cassie took a challenging stance: “I’m sure you recall how I beat you up last night?”

“I may be healed, but my memory is still bruised.” Charlie smirked as she took on her own defensive posture, “I owe you a few bruises,” and with a pause, Charlie let her demon voice finish, “Sis!”

Cassie chuckled as she began to move slowly, combining techniques and looking to catch Charlie off guard. “Smart. You’re using your innate abilities mixed with the training as a way to make your opponent nervous.” Cassie suddenly dropped to one knee, spun her staff along the ground, and nearly clipped Charlie’s feet, but she was more prepared than before and hopped up. Still, Cassie was far more trained for such combat, and she swung the staff up hard and caught Charlie in the hip, and she stumbled. Cassie watched Charlie’s horns sprout out, and red eyes glowed at her as Charlie found her footing. “But of course, I’m not scared of you… Sis!” 

Charlie let her full hybrid form spill forth, and her claws gripped the Bo staff to the point it almost cracked, but her demon voice held a tint of amusement: “Oh, come on!”

“Let your power flow, sweetie. Just know that with me, you’re going to have to really rely on what I’ve been training you. Try everything; come at me with all you’ve got!”

Charlie did exactly that, starting with the pinkie move to drive Cassie backwards, twisting her wrists to lower and raise her attack to avoid Cassie’s blocks. Charlie nearly had Cassie back against one of the dojo walls when Cassie suddenly dropped her Bo staff. In the heat of the moment, Charlie moved in to attack Cassie for her mistake, but she heard what Cassie saw and stopped. Turning her eyes towards the door, Charlie’s features melted back into her human form, and she grinned wide at Angel, who leaned against the door frame watching the two practice. Charlie felt more than saw Cassie’s energy move past her, and then watched Cassie grab Angel and embrace him firmly. 

“Angel!” Cassie’s voice was thick with feeling: “Thank the goddesses, you’re alright!”

Angel returned the embrace and closed his eyes, “I’m sorry to put you through all of this, sis. Thank you so much for saving my life.”

“Always!” Cassie wiped her eyes as she took a step back, “I can’t believe Charlie was able to heal you. It’s a true miracle.”

Charlie blushed as she stepped up to the siblings, staff still in hand, and Angel opened an arm for her to nestle herself into him, “It’s a true Charlie.”

Cassie chuckled at Charlie’s cheeks turning crimson, and Charlie shook her head, “I’m glad, but... if I didn’t have these powers...” She looked at Angel, “I nearly died with you last night.”

Angel nodded and moved a few strands of hair out of Charlie’s face, “We were all lucky you found your power, Charlie, and now we know more about what you can do...  and,” Angel’s demeanor turned serious, “What Samedi, under Bible’s guidance, can do.”

The celebratory air was suffocated under the reminder of last night and the three were silent for a moment. Angel continued, “Rygen may be dead and gone, but Samedi could call up more demons.”

“If the theory holds, it will take some time before Samedi can call up another. The magics involved take a lot out of a summoner. We should be fine for a few days, at the very least.” Cassie assured them.

“That’s good to know. It will let us focus on trying to pinpoint where Bible is. I just hope Amanda has found something in the files she’s collecting.”

“Has she called?” Cassie asked, before remembering Angel had no phone.

“With my phone busted up, I don’t know, and I don’t have her number memorized, or I’d borrow yours. We’ll just have to wait for her to show.”

“There’s still an hour before noon. I’m going to teach Charlie a few more tricks, then we’ll grab lunch, and if Amanda’s here by then, go over everything she brings.”

“Sounds good. Umm,” Angel remembered and looked chastised with the next question, “About your car?”

“I got it back here before it gave up, completely,” Cassie shrugged, “But it’s definitely done for.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Charlie took payment out of Rygen, and you’re okay.” Cassie shook her head, smiling, “That’s all that really matters to me.”

“So, it’s parked in the back?”

“Yup.”

“Then I’m going to collect the arsenal I’d bought and see what I can salvage out of the groceries. Meet you in an hour in the shop?”

“Deal.” 

Angel leaned into Charlie and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, “Go easy on my sister, okay, Princess?”

With a wink, Charlie suddenly jabbed her Bo staff out and caught Cassie in the shoulder, who grunted and stumbled back, “Just as easy as she did on me last night!”

“Why, you little demon!” Cassie skipped backwards and fetched her Bo staff, taking on a challenging stance again, “That’s the last time you get one up on me!”

Angel laughed and stepped back as Charlie lunged at Cassie, and the two began to spar in earnest. Taking that as his cue to leave, Angel opened the door and took the stairs down to the main floor and out to the back.

Notes:

How about a little bit of good-nature fun after a dark chapter? It's likely the last time they'll all be able to have such a moment.

Chapter 32: Removing Obstacles

Notes:

Warning - Some Gore

Rygen, in Amanda Sims form, walked casually down Decatur Street, carrying a worn brown leather satchel over his shoulder. As he moved among the morning tourists, he took in the multitude of aromas the various humans gave off and patted his engorged stomach. Well fed on the bodies of Amanda and Stefon, it calmed his rage at being under the control of Samedi, and he even relished in the plan he was about to carry out. With his thoughts full of fantasies of eventually feasting on the Princess of Hell herself, Samedi promised that if she failed them, he would suffer the human’s desires. As he turned the corner, his strong sense of smell picked up the strong lingering scents of Amanda, Angel, and the bitch herself coming from the witchcraft shop a few storefronts down.  

With a crack of his neck, Rygen reached up and felt the beaded necklace around his neck, which held a spell to mask his mystical presence. It was the same spell Samedi had used in the warehouse, so they knew it would keep the Princess from sensing him as he carried out his plan. Now, it would all depend on her not being with Angel when he approached him under his current guise as their friend, Sims. Taking a deep whiff, Rygen’s eyes drifted up towards the roof above the shop and sensed that she was up there and that Angel’s smell was not among them. He grinned and moved at a quick pace to reach the shop and take care of business.

***

Inside the shop at the main counter, Davis sat perched on a shop stool and  sipped on an iced coffee as he flipped through the pages of a geometry book, taking notes on a notepad next to him. The morning had been very slow with almost no customers, and while Davis enjoyed the interactions, he was grateful for the peace and quiet to get ahead on some of his studies. Focused on solving an equation, he almost did not hear the front door bell chime and actually jumped a bit as the bell’s sound broke the silence. He looked up, noticed the young woman who’d walked in, and smiled in greeting.

“Welcome to ‘Charmed, I’m sure.’. May I help you with anything?”

With a quick cursory glance around the store, Rygen confirmed that they were alone and smiled warmly at the young man. “You might. Are you the shop owner?”

Davis shook his head, “No, I just help Cassie out part time. Were you looking for her?”

“Not particularly.” Rygen smirked as he took a few steps into the shop. He eyed the various trinkets and artifacts on display, noticing that most were worthless junk but also taking a keen interest in some of the items that he could tell held real power. Whether this Cassie knew the difference between the two, he couldn’t guess, but he would not dismiss her outright. “There is quite a variety of magics in here. Are you a practitioner yourself?”

Davis let out a laugh, “Afraid not. Cassie’s the one with the gifts. I just enjoy learning about the different branches of witchcraft, from herbology to the casting of spells, and even a bit of the summonings sounds intriguing.”

“So.” Rygen thought to himself, “The witch knew her stuff.” Rygen moved among the displays as he continued to interrogate the human. “Summonings? You mean like calling up a demon from hell?”

“Something along those lines, I suppose.” David shrugged as he watched the young woman approach the counter, her eyes gazing over every inch of the store. “I guess I more enjoy the work that goes into creating a circle, the materials needed, and the lore behind it. We have a few books on the subject if it interests you.”

“Honestly,” Rygen’s voice cooled, “I am not very fond of summonings. They bind the demon to the summoner like a slave. It’s pathetic.”

Sensing he’d offended the young woman but having no idea how, Davis bowed his head solemnly. “I didn’t mean to offend you, miss.”

As he peered down into the cabinet with the crystals and amulets on display, Rygen let his eyes drift up to Davis, and he gave him a smile, “You did not. It’s just a personal irk of mine. I take it, then you have never seen a demon before?” 

Grateful he’d not offended the lady, Davis chuckled, “No. As much as I love the study of magics, it’s difficult to believe that summoning demons could be a real thing.”

“Oh, they’re very real.” Rygen grinned, his facade’s smile looking cool and predatory, which startled Davis. Out of sight of Davis’s eyes, Rygen’s hand performed a small figure-eight circle, and the lock on the shop door turned with a silent click. “Would you like to see one?”

“Miss?” The air in the shop turned cold, and Davis felt fear creep along his spine. The woman’s eyes seemed to subtly change while she pulled out a strange-looking glass ball out of her satchel.

“Do you  know what this is?” Rygen gleefully asked. The young man’s fear made Rygen’s stomach growl for more food.

“N…no?” Davis found his gaze pulled towards the ball, despite the warning bells going off in his head. “What is it?”

“It holds a particularly fun spell.” Rygen rolled the ball under his finger along the glass top of the case, “When released, it creates a silent bubble that muffles all the sounds within it from the outside world. Once you speak the spell, all you have to do is tap the ball three times to activate it.”

To demonstrate, Rygen spoke a spell that Davis could not understand, “Absorbe omnes sonitus intus,” then tapped the top of the ball three times. Davis watched in awe as the glass ball pulsed and a soft grayish light burst out of the ball and bathed the entire store in its flickering light for a few seconds. Rygen picked up the ball and dropped it into the satchel. “Now, no one outside of the room will hear a thing.”

“Uh.” Davis started to slip off the stool, “What purpose does such a spell serve?”

With a laugh, Rygen suddenly lashed out with a clawed hand and grabbed Davis by the collar of his shirt, pulling him hard against the counter. “Isn’t it obvious, meat, so no one can hear the sound of your screams.”

Davis did indeed scream, as the woman before him changed into something incredibly frightening. He saw a creature that he had a moment to recognize from one of the books he had read, and a name slipped from his lips: “Rygen!?”

Rygen blinked in surprise. “You know me, human?”

“I…” Davis choked from the pressure on his throat as Rygen’s claw slipped around his neck. “...have seen you in one of the books. You’re a hell-hound, one of the deadliest in the texts. It called you ‘The Devourer’!”

“MMMM!” Rygen licked his lips, “That I am.”

Rygen dragged Davis over the counter, threw him harshly on the floor in front of it, and leaned down as his shape continued to morph back into his natural form. He watched Davis struggle to sit up against the counter and let him have the moment to do so. His voice cracked with fear. “Please. What do you want?”

Rygen sniffed hungrily at Davis’s scent, which was now saturated in fear and despair, his favorite seasonings, but he shook his head, sadly saying, “Unfortunately, time doesn’t grant me what I really want. To feast on you slowly and savor every morsel. I have too much to do and too little time to do it. Plus, I’m rather full, so I’m afraid you’ll just have to go to waste.”

Hyperventilating, Davis watched Rygen’s claw trace up from his groin to his throat, tears streaming down his face, and he wept, “Please… please don’t.”

Rygen’s maw turned into a wicked, dark grin as he pushed his fore-claw deep into Davis’ throat and pulled downward, splitting Davis’ torso open from throat to groin. Blood poured out and down both sides of Davis’ quivering body as his eyes rolled back in his head and blood gurgled out of his choking mouth. Rygen watched the man suffer as life seeped from his mutilated body before he took his other claw and, with both, pulled his chest apart. Cracking his ribs out of the way, Rygen plunged his claw into Davis’ body and ripped out his heart. Sniffing it lovingly to draw in the scent, Rygen allowed himself a bit of dessert and bit deep into the tissue, chewing it slowly. 

Once finished with his morsel, Rygen reared up on his hind legs to his full height, burped loudly, and let himself return to the form of Amanda Sims. He then retrieved the satchel he’d dropped while killing Davis. Drawing his hand out of the satchel, Rygen gripped a large vial of red fluid and pulled the stopper off the top. Whispering a spell under his breath, Rygen flicked vial outward in a semi circle towards the middle of the shop and the vibrant red fluid expanded into torrents of mystical fire, coating over and along all of the merchandise in the shop. Rygen watched as the books shriveled up in the fire, which burned cold and quietly. He smirked as the incense began to burn in bulk, the artifacts and jewelry melted, and the stands themselves became scorched. Rygen looked down into the counter where the crystals and amulets lay and clicked on the vial, and a bit of the red liquid dripped onto the case, immediately melting the glass and falling onto the collection of crystals, and they started to explode like popcorn shells. 

Laughing with vicious glee, Rygen kicked the various stands over and danced between the flickering fires, tossing items that were missed into the fires. He watched the entire shop all but disintegrate before his eyes. It took mere minutes before the entire shop had been destroyed, and satisfied that Cassie would not be able to salvage anything, Rygen walked casually over to Davis’ body and kneeled. Sliding a delicate finger along the ridge of his mangled rib cage, Rygen brought a bloody finger to his lips and sucked on it, cleansing it of the blood. “I’m sorry I couldn’t finish you, my dear boy. Especially to honor you for knowing who I am.”

Rygen turned his eyes upward and looked at the ceiling. From what Samedi had told him, Cassie lived in the apartment above, and that is where he would find Angel, or what was left of him after what Rygen had done to him. He looked to the side door,  smirked, and thought, “Let’s go see how much damage we did to the meat.”

Standing, Rygen walked over and grabbed the door knob and pulled hard, which broke the lock, and he opened it slowly. With a sniff, he confirmed no one was in the hallway and stepped out. With another strong whiff, Rygen’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Angel was not upstairs, as he expected, but outside in the back. This did not make sense to Rygen. He expected Angel to be laid up in bed, dying, and easy to pluck from under the nose of the bitch Princess. With care, Rygen moved to the door that led to the back parking lot and opened it slowly. Eyes that could see in pure darkness peered through the crack and real shock ran down Rygen’s spine. There, next to the car he’d crashed into the night before, he saw Angel moving with ease and looking healthy, removing bags from the back seat of the car.

“How!?” Rygen growled deeply but silently, “How is he not near death? Where are the wounds I gave him?”

With careful movement, Rygen closed the back door and closed his eyes. This changed things. He had intended to use a sleeping spell on Angel and whisk him away in silence, but the bubble spell did not work out there, and if Angel got off any kind of warning, it would reach the Princess on the roof.  He considered trying to get Angel up to the apartment itself, where he could use the bubble spell discretely and then subdue Angel with the sleep spell, but again, it could catch the attention of the two on the roof.

“Fuck!” Rygen glowered. He would have to lure Angel into the destroyed shop, act distraught, and hope the act would work long enough to catch him off guard. It would be a mix of luck and timing to carry out this modified plan, but Rygen saw no choice. Moving back towards the door to the shop, Rygen closed his eyes and opened his ears fully. He would just have to wait for Angel to come through the back door, and then he could begin his act.

 

Chapter 33: The Trap is Sprung

Casting a guess at the strength Rygen had thrown into his attack, Angel stood at the side of the wrecked Prius and shook his head softly as he ran his hand along the dented driver's side door. Despite nearly dying, Angel had to appreciate the power that Rygen held and knew that if Charlie ever let herself go, she could likely do as much, if not more, damage. Moving to the back, Angel pulled on the trunk and lifted the tailgate, taking a glance at the strewn items. Most of what he’d bought would be salvageable, and only some of the cold items were wasted. Still, it was the weapons he’d purchased that drew his attention. Picking up the box he’d stored his purchases in, Angel lifted up the second gun he’d purchased, a Smith & Wesson M&P 5.7, and switftly loaded it and slipped it into his waistband. He then gathered up the rest of what he could salvage into the box and set it on the ground to close the trunk.

Turning his head to listen, Angel could barely hear the girls on the roof sparing and smirked as he picked up the box and made his way to the back door. Propping the box on his knee, he twisted the handle and slipped inside just as he saw Amanda come from the shop, pale and shaking.

“Amanda!?” Angel dropped the box and moved towards her. 

She looked at him with wide eyes, her body shaking. “Angel! Oh, my God! It’s horrible!”

Reaching her, Angel took her by the shoulders to stop her shaking, and she melted against him. “What happened?”

“The shop. It’s... the young man... he’s...” Amanda stuttered, and Angel looked past her to the door, which was propped part way open; the frame busted outward. He moved Amanda aside, carefully walked to the door, and pulled it open the rest of the way. Angel gasped at the condition of Cassie’s shop. Everything was burned, but no fire was present, nor was there any expected burn smell. He stepped in carefully, pulling the gun from his waist as he moved into the shop, with Amanda following at a distance. After a few steps, Angel stopped when he saw Davis’s body and closed his eyes for a moment, grieving. Kneeling next to the body, Angel quickly assessed the damage.

“Did you see anyone?” Angel turned to Amanda, who was holding her arms in her hands. He understood her fear. She’d just met Charlie, and now this.

“When I pulled up, I thought someone might have been coming from the shop, but I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Rising, Angel quickly moved to the front door and pulled, but it didn’t budge. Noticing it was locked, he turned the latch, pulled the door open, and looked outside, turning his head left and  right, seeing only tourists moving along the sidewalks and the road. He scanned down the road in each direction, noticed a few empty parking spots, and took a deep breath. Stepping back into the shop, Angel relocked the door but didn’t turn around. 

“Angel?” Amanda’s soft voice came from the counter next to Davis’ body: “Do you see anyone?”

Switching the safety off his gun, Angel turned and lifted the weapon to point directly at Amanda, who’s eyes widened in shock. “Angel!?”

“Who are you?” Angel’s voice was colored with deep suspicion. 

Amanda shook her head. “It’s me, Angel. It’s Amanda! What are you doing?”

“No. You’re not.” Angel cocked the gun, “Last chance.”

Angel watched the change happen before him as ‘Amanda’ straightened up, and she smiled darkly, “I gotta know, meat. How did you figure me out so quickly?”

A shudder ran down Angel’s spine, and he swallowed audibly, “Rygen?”

As Amanda's features started to fade away and the demon beast that nearly killed him the previous night took their place, a low chuckle answered his question.“In the flesh, dear Angel.”

“Charlie killed you!” 

“Almost. Almost.” Rygen’s smile thinned at the memory. “But not quite. Maybe I’ll regale the tale of my survival if you’ll tell me how you figured me out so fast. I really want to know.”

“The side door bolt is busted, and the front door was locked. It means that whatever killed Davis came in the front and left from the side door, but the only one I saw from the side was ‘Amanda’. When I looked outside, I didn’t see her car, and there were open parking spots.”

“Impressive.” Rygen nodded and shifted again into his own human form, giving Angel a slight bow. “As for my miraculous survival, you may thank Samedi for that.”

“It seems I have a lot to owe Samedi,” Angel glowered, “Where’s Amanda?”

Rygen licked his lips, eager to share the truth, but knew a different tactic was necessary at the moment. “We have her, and if you don’t do as I say, she’ll be my next meal.” To make a point, Rygen looked directly at Davis’s body, “And I’m very, very hungry.”

Angel looked up towards the ceiling, but Rygen tsked, “It won’t do you any good. The shop is inside a silence spell, which quells all sound to the outside world. It's how I was able to... how shall I say... conduct my business with the young man here.”

“You fucking asshole!” 

Angel lifted the gun towards Rygen’s face, but the demon just laughed. “Kill me, and your little bitch dies.”

Anger nearly decided his next action, and it took all of his self-control not to pull the trigger. “What is it you want?”

“Oh, it’s not what I want. It’s what Bible wants. Which is you!”

Bible! Angel eased his finger off the trigger, his eyes shifting around the room to see what he could use, but Rygen was starting to catch on to Angel’s ways.

“Kill me, and Amanda dies. Try to run, and I’ll kill you before your demon bitch can reach you. You have no choice.”

It tore at his soul, but Rygen was right. He had the upper hand on all counts, and Angel saw no other choice. Switching the safety on, Angel dropped the gun and kicked it away. Rygen smirked and motioned with a single finger for Angel to come to him. Lips pursed and eyes cold, Angel obliged and stepped up to Rygen, careful not to disturb Davis’ body. He watched Rygen open the satchel that he’d been carrying and pull out a vial of black liquid. 

“What is that?” Angel felt a chill seep into his voice.

“Oh, do not fear. This will simply mask your scent and put you into a walking trance, so you won’t be able to scream or call out for your bitch Princess, and you’ll follow me out of the shop to meet up with Samedi, who is waiting down the street for us.” 

Popping the stopper off, Rygen handed it to Angel, who hesitated. Rygen’s smile faded, and his voice turned cold. “Take it, meat, and drink it.”

With a stuttered breath, Angel obeyed and took the vial and swiftly downed the black liquid, which tasted like spoiled blackberry, and he nearly gagged, but the spell took affect quickly, and the sound of gagging was cut off as Angel’s eyes turned full black and his expression became mute. Rygen lifted his hand, which had shifted into his massive claw, and he caressed Angel’s cheek with it, careful not to cut him yet. As he saw no reaction whatsoever from Angel, Rygen was satisfied that the spell had taken hold perfectly. Rygen reached back into the satchel and took out a burner cell phone and sat it on the counter, placing a prepared post-it note next to it, then smiled darkly, motioning Angel with his finger.

“Follow me, meat.”

Rygen stepped past Angel, who deftly turned and matched Rygen’s stride to the front door. Flipping the lock, Rygen took a moment to shake his head and chastise himself for almost screwing up the entire plan by making such a small mistake. Opening the door, Rygen ushered Angel outside, pointed down the sidewalk, and quietly ordered him to walk slowly while Rygen turned and closed the door, with the inner latch clicking, indicating it had locked. Rygen didn’t need a tourist going in and seeing the state of the shop before they’d put some distance between them and the demon princess. Matching pace with Angel, who walked steadily but without so much of a hint of emotion, Rygen guided him to the corner where a black sedan sat, idling, and the passenger window lowered to reveal Samedi’s crooked smile.

“Looks like you didn’t fuck things up, pet.”

Rygen glowered but then let his lips lift in a smile. “I admit, Master, it was fun. Sims and Stefon are dead, and the shop is destroyed, taking the witch out of the game, and of course, we have Angel.”

Rygen opened the rear door and shoved Angel inside, who hit the seat face first but made no sound, only righting himself to take a seat casually. Samedi chuckled, “Bible will be most pleased, pet. Get in. We need to be in the air before our deeds are discovered. You left the phone where the Collins girl could see it?.”

“I did.” Rygen confirmed.

“Excellent. By the time they find it and realize what’s happened, we’ll be safely out of reach, and once she makes the call to Bible to set up the trade, all will be set in motion.”

“We won’t actually be trading, right?” Rygen eyed Angel with a hungry look.

Samedi motioned to the driver of the car to merge into traffic and head towards the airport. “Of course not. But don’t get any ideas yet, pet. Bible wants to see Angel. Apparently, they have some history, and Bible is looking forward to the reunion.”

“Pity.” Rygen frowned. “I owe this human some payback.”

“Patience.” Samedi smiled. “If I get my way, you’ll have a buffet of humans to feast on soon, and perhaps even have the Princess of Hell herself as your personal plaything.”

Despite how much he had hated Samedi when he called him up from hell, Rygen found himself intrigued by Samedi’s words and found himself eager to discover what the voodoo man had in mind. Hell, Rygen thought to himself, as devious and demented as Samedi was, he was starting to like the human, for in the end they both shared a deep desire to see the Princess of Hell suffer eternally. 

Chapter 34: The Ultimatum

Notes:

The previous chapter has two sections that I had to modify to add in the following so this chapter makes sense:

After Rygen gives Angel the vial: Rygen reached back into the satchel and took out a burner cell phone and sat it on the counter, placing a prepared post-it note next to it, then smiled darkly, motioning Angel with his finger.

And added to the conversation with Samedi: Samedi chuckled, “Bible will be most pleased, pet. Get in. We need to be in the air before our deeds are discovered. You left the phone where the Collins girl could see it?.”
“I did.” Rygen confirmed.
“Excellent. By the time they find it and realize what’s happened, we’ll be safely out of reach, and once she makes the call to Bible to set up the trade, all will be set in motion.”

“I think that’s more than enough for today!” Cassie said, breathlessly as she rubbed a spot Charlie had just connected with on her ribs. She peered at Charlie, who was dancing on her cloven hooves excitedly, lost in the moment of bloodlust, and Cassie admired how quickly she was picking up tactics, employing her own modified attack and defenses. She coughed to drive home the point, and Charlie stopped, her gleeful smile replaced by genuine concern.

“Did I hurt you?” Charlie asked timidly, knowing there was a big difference between the pain of training and real injury.

Cassie smirked at her concern, grateful for it and also finding it endearing, “No, sweetie, nothing worse than what is expected with the level of sparring we’ve been doing. I'm hungry, and I’m sure Angel is waiting for us to get lunch.”

Charlie nodded and reached out to take Cassie’s Bo, intending to place them against one of the Dojo walls. When Cassie held her arm out, though, she audibly grimmaced.

“I did hurt you!” Charlie looked scared. “How bad?”

“It’s nothing, sweetie, okay? I’ve dealt with far worse in the service. It just means you’re learning at a much faster pace than I expected. I’m impressed.”

Cassie’s defiant denial did not soothe Charlie at all. She dropped the Bos right where they were and stepped up to Cassie, opening her arms. Cassie tilted her head, curiously.

“Let me do what I know I can do.” Charlie felt Cassie accept her embrace, and Charlie called upon the same power she’d used the night before on herself and Angel. A soft, warm glow enveloped the girls as Charlie sent her healing power outward, and in moments, all the bruises and cuts on both girls faded. As the soft glow faded, Cassie didn’t immediately pull away and squeezed Charlie’s shoulder from the back.

“You are amazing.” Cassie’s voice held a tint of wetness. Charlie smiled against Cassie’s cheek, blushing softly.

“So are you, sis. You’ve helped me so much more than I could have ever imagined. Even though I can’t unlock my memories, everything else about me feels… like me. I honestly feel I could live my life without knowing who I was in hell, because I want to stay here for the rest of my life. With Angel. With you.”

Cassie stepped back, brushing her hair aside, appraising Charlie as she did, “Are you sure, sweetie? I mean, I will still do everything in my power to figure out what’s keeping your memories in chains. And what of your father, Lucifer? If he comes calling?”

“If he does, I’ll declare you my family, and I will fight to protect you. Besides, despite not knowing, I feel like my father is far more benevolent than human’s believe. I trust those feelings.”

“If he’s even half of what you are, Charlotte Morningstar, then I believe you one hundred percent.” Cassie smiled, and while she knew Charlie didn’t like it, she offered a mid waist bow, adding, “Allow your sister to show her respect for Her Majesty’s incredible power, this one time?”

Charlie bowed back in kind, “And allow me to show respect to my Master, who showed me how to be more than a demon. I will never be able to thank you enough for it.”

The two shared a warm smile while Charlie bent and fetched the Bos, returning them to the dojo, and the two stepped into the stairwell to make their way down to the apartment.

“Angel said most of the food was salvageable, but since we also think we have time before Samedi and Bible can regroup, perhaps we’ll just go out for lunch.” Cassie suggested as she fetched her key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

“That sounds great. Angel mentioned there were a few places called ‘Vegan’, I think the word was, he wanted to introduce me to.”

“Oh, Lord.” Cassie laughed as she ushered Charlie in ahead of her, “I will never be able to get over the fact that the Princess of Hell is a vegetarian.”

“All life is sacred.” Charlie firmly said, yet a wisp of real anger coated her next words: “Except those who would try to kill my family.”

Cassie stopped and looked at Charlie. “I’ll say this as plainly as I can: When it comes to the likes of Samedi, Bible, and the monsters that plague our world, if Charlie the Demon takes them out, I will be right there by her side.”

The two women exchanged a look of understanding before Cassie called out, "Angel." We’re back. Are you hungry?”

Silence greeted them. Cassie looked at Charlie, who had tilted her head, her face showing concern, “I don’t hear him. I also don’t smell him.”

“Is he in the store?” Cassie asked.

Charlie tilted her head more, opening up her hearing, and quickly looked at Cassie, “I can’t hear anything. Not even Davis, or any customers.”

Turning on her heels, Cassie ran for the door with Charlie right behind her, and they barreled down the stairs into the hallway outside of the shop. Cassie stopped, with Charlie almost running into her.

“Cassie?”

“The door.” Cassie pointed to the damaged frame. “Something’s happened!”

Taking on her demon form, Charlie stepped defensively in front of Cassie and moved cautiously to the door. Opening it, she peered inside, and Cassie heard her fearful, frightened gasp. Cassie pushed her aside and stumbled into the shop, stopping with a start of shock, as she took in the destruction. Her eyes darted all through the store, emotional pain and loss drowning her, yet it was nothing compared to what she saw next. Eyes tracing the store towards the counter, Cassie gasped at the same time as Charlie, whose sense of smell had picked up the blood.

“DAVIS!” Cassie ran and dropped next to the young man’s body, lifting his head onto her lap, tears blinding her. “No! No. Oh God, no, Davis!”

Charlie swallowed her own cry and knelt next to Cassie, peering at the body and taking in what had killed him, and she recognized very quickly what had done the deed.

“Rygen.” Charlie’s demon voice growled deeply. 

Cassie wiped her eyes as she cradled Davis, “It can’t be. You killed him!”

“I did. I mean, I thought I did. He evaporated after I speared him. I thought I’d sent him back to hell.”

Cassie wept for a moment, unable to articulate. Charlie lifted her head to take in the shop more closely, “He used the same spell that killed the girl. This is magic fire.”

Cassie traced her fingers along Davis’ forehead, pain and rage building inside her. He didn’t deserve this. He had a future. He was innocent. Cassie’s shoulders shook in silent sobs. 

Charlie felt deep pain for Davis, and she attacked herself mentally, mercilessly, for failing yet again. She failed Davis just as she’d failed Angel when Rygen had attacked him.

“ANGEL!” The shock of finding Davis had temporarily distracted her thoughts, and Charlie suddenly realized, “Where’s Angel?”

The same shock that had blinded Cassie was erased by Charlie’s cry, and she looked up, “He’s not here! Oh God.”

Charlie stood, her demon form exploding into the dark-haired, demonic creature she became for those she wished to scare to near death. Her voice echoed earily through the store, and she wailed with banshee force, and began to move towards the entrance.

“Charlie!” Cassie shouted, “STOP!”

As if pulled by an invisible chain, Charlie stopped in place, and floated in the air like a demonic cloud, her physical form enveloped by her long, black floating hair and blood-red eyes. She turned towards Cassie, “No! Let me go find Angel.”

“Not like that, Charlie. Don’t you realize what you are right now?”

No answer came from the demonic being hovering near the roof of the store, and the eyes just glowered at Cassie, as if she were the demon’s next target. Cassie knew instinctively she was safe, even though she also felt Charlie was almost out of control. Why Charlie listened to her in the heat of the moment; she didn’t know, but she had to take advantage of it. “Charlie, sweetie, my dear sister. We need to think. If you go out like this, you’ll be discovered, and then what? How can we find Angle if we’re hunted? Please, come down.”

A slight hesitation made Cassie worry that Charlie was gone, but then she watched with relief as the mass of black hair receeded and changed blonde as Charlie touched down, still in her human-hybrid form, and she dropped to her knees, bowed her head, and cried softly. Carefully laying Davis’s head on the floor, Cassie grabbed the counter to help lift her to her feet, intending to go to Charlie, when she noticed the cell phone and note.

“Charlie?”

With a deep breath, Charlie looked up at Cassie’s change in voice as Cassie picked up the phone. “What is that?”

Picking up the note, Cassie’s eyes turned cold as she read it: “Dial the saved number, or Angel dies.”

As if shot from a cannon, Charlie sprung to her cloved feet and ran to stand next to Cassie, who held the phone as if it were cursed, and gripped the note in anger, “This is from Bible.”

“He has Angel?”

“It appears so.” Cassie fingered the call button, hesitating, and Charlie, finding herself back in control, put a hand on Cassie’s shoulder in support. With a long, deep breath, Cassie pressed the call button and set it on speaker phone. In dead silence, they waited as it rang seven times before the click of an answer followed. 

“Do I have the pleasure of speaking to Cassandra Collins?” The voice that flowed through the speaker was distorted by a program, disguising Bible’s true voice.

“Yes, damn you. Where’s Angel!?”

A deep chuckle preceded Bible’s answer: “He will soon be with me, and I promise you can have him back in exchange for the Princess.”

The demand came to no shock to either, and Charlie spoke up, “If you hurt him, I will make you pay in blood!”

“Ah, the very Princess herself. It is a true pleasure to speak with you, My Lady. But do dismiss with the threats. I do not entertain them. If you want him alive, come to me willingly.”

“Where?” Cassie asked as she reached around the counter to open a drawer and grab a pen and paper. Listening intently, Cassie jotted down the information Bible relayed to her, realizing the area he was sending them to was familiar. Cursing, Cassie dropped the pen when Bible finished. “It is going to take us a couple of days, Bible, you realize this?”

“I’m patient, but don’t dwaddle. I do plan to have a bit of ‘fun’ with Angel while waiting for your arrival.”

“Don’t you fucking hurt him!” Charlie growled in her demon voice, her skin rippling angrily. 

Bible just chuckled, “Then I suggest you make haste, dear Princess.”

Before Charlie could retort, the line went dead, and she looked to Cassie with worried eyes, “Where is this, ‘Libya’?”

“Overseas, and it has no extradition treaty with the US. Bible chose the place well.” Cassie’s voice seemed distant, and Charlie touched her shoulder.

“Cassie?”

“I’ve been there.” Cassie whispered, “When Angel and I were in the service,. It’s the place where it happened.”

“It?” Charlie asked before it hit her. “What Angel told me? What drove you both from the service? It was there?”

“Yes.” Cassie dropped the phone in the trash and turned to Charlie, “We need backup.”

“He said to come alone.” Charlie said, but her voice agreed with Cassie’s statement. “Which we’re not going to do, huh?”

“No. Angel and I were not the only ones there. I never stopped keeping track of our old team. I’m going to call them. We need their expertise.”

“I won’t hide who I am from them.” Charlie warned. “Do you think they can handle fighting alongside a demon?”

“We used to fight for one.” Cassie’s cryptic answer confused Charlie, but Cassie was moving towards the door to the hallway. “I’m going to call one of them, explain things, and then call the police. I won’t leave Davis like this.”

“What do I do?” Charlie felt lost.

Cassie stopped, her hand resting on the broken door handle, and she turned to Charlie, “Fuel your rage. This time, we’re going out for war!”

Cassie ripped the door open and walked angrily out, and Charlie stood there in silence and took one last look at Davis before she averted her eyes out of respect and whispered, “Wait for me, Angel. Your armor is coming to save you!”

Chapter 35: Samedi's Dark Plan

Unintelligible words floated into Angel’s ears as his eyes started to focus. With his mind starting to clear, he shook his head and looked around, trying to discern his location, and quickly realized he was in a small aircraft that was already in the air. The act of moving brought with it a pounding headache, and Angel squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to clear the pain. A low voice broke through, and he opened one eye to see Samedi coming down the short isleway with a bottle of water. He took a seat opposite Angel and placed the bottle in the cupholder next to Angel.

“This will help clear your head.” Samedi motioned to the bottle. 

Angel just looked at it before he focused his eyes on Samedi. Realizing he had no restraints, he lunged for the Voodoo priest. Strong claw-like hands grabbed him by the shoulder and violently pulled him back into his seat. Angel looked up to see Rygen’s Bulldog face, mouth open, saliva dripping freely down on Angel’s cheek. He gave him a hungry smile, “Stay!”

“Fuck you!” Angel hissed, which rewarded him with a sharp pain of claws poking into his shoulders, though they did not break the skin.

“Enough!” Samedi shouted. “Release him, pet. He now knows he has no choice but to sit there like a good boy.”

Rygen growled but did as ordered, and Angel turned his eyes towards Rygen, who changed back into Amanda Sims and gave him a sexy smile, “You’ll be a good boy for me, won’t you, sweetie?”

“I am going to kill you.” Angel promised and turned away, shaking.

“I’m sure you’d like to.” Amanda’s voice carried between the seats.

“Where is Amanda?” Angel took the question to Samedi. 

“Oh, Rygen didn’t tell you?” Samedi’s dark smile answered Angel’s question in a way he unconsciously already knew, and he bowed his head, defeated.

“She’s dead.” Angel’s throat tightened in pain, and Rygen’s feminized chuckle confirmed it. Angel gripped the seat’s arm rests to control his rage. For a moment, he contemplated the risk of another attack on Samedi, but his analytical mind took control, telling him to wait for Charlie.

“Sadly so.” Samedi’s voice was oddly apologetic, if only to calm Angel down: “She and Stefon had to be eliminated.”

“And Davis?” Angel glared at Samedi.

Rygen, still as Amanda, answered, “Wrong place. Wrong time. But you should be grateful. If your sister had been in the shop.”

Wisdom failed Angel, and he jumped up, lunged over the seat, and gripped a surprised Rygen by the throat. Samedi laughed heartily as Rygen shifted from Amanda into his male human form, actually struggling for breath at the sheer force of Angel’s grip. With the power of Samedi’s control over him, Rygen could not physically harm Angel, and he growled, “Get this fucker off me!”

Samedi motioned to two guards who had been sitting a couple rows away, and they came over and pried Angel off of Rygen and shoved him in his seat. One of the guards pulled out a pair of military zip ties and secured Angel in place.

“Now, now. Since you can’t sit still, we have to resort to this. A pity. I wanted to afford you some hospitality.” Samedi reached forward, picked up the water bottle, and unscrewed the cap. Taking a long drink, he sighed contently and sat the bottle in his own cup holder. “But now, you’ll just have to sit, relax, and wait till we land.”

Angel spit at Samedi in reply. With a sigh, Samedi pulled his pocket handkerchief out and dabbled the moisture away, “Such a child. Still, I do have to compliment you on messing up our well-laid plans the last few months.”

“Glad of it!” Angel hissed.

“I am, as well. I’ve never seen Bible so emotional, and it’s revealed his weakness.”

“How?”

“Apparently, he knows you, my dear Angel. He is looking forward to this reunion.’

“Who is he?” Angel’s voice was lost.

“You’ll see soon enough. It is the demon princess that I am eager to meet. When she arrives, she will trade herself for you. I cannot wait to bind her and make her my slave.”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Angel hissed.

“Oh, I will dare, and maybe I will fuck her, too.” Samedi laughed at the idea: “After all, bound demons have to do everything they’re told to do. Isn’t that right, my pet?”

Rygen glowered as he rubbed his bruised neck and gave an honest answer despite wanting to curse Samedi. “We must. Your little bitch won’t have any choice.”

“Exactly. However, Angel, you will once again have the chance to be with your little princess when she dismembers you and shares with Rygen a meal of your flesh."

“Now that I look forward to!” Angel’s voice came out of Rygen’s mouth as he stood up and walked around to sit next to Samedi, now appearing as Angel. “And perhaps I will taste her as well, wearing this face.”

Samedi laughed again, “My pet knows theatrics. I love it. I think it would even be fun to watch him fuck her in this form, too. Don’t you think, Angel?”

“I would genuinely be honored for the opportunity.” Rygen nodded in sincerity. “That bitch deserves it.”

Angel’s rage boiled in him, and he tried to pull up on the restraints; all control was lost, and he wanted these two dead. They just shared a laugh at his struggles. “You’ll never bind her!”

“Oh, I will.” Samdi promised. “And with her, I will kill Bible and take control of his operations. No longer will I bow to anyone. The world will be my oyster, and the Princess of hell will be my pearl!”

The threat in Samedi’s voice sent chills down Angel’s spine. He watched the two laugh at their plans, and while he knew how powerful Charlie was, he could not see a way out of this, and for the first time since that day in Libya, Angel felt his world crumble around him. 

Notes:

Two chapters in one night?

And if all goes well, the last two chapters of this act will be posted, tomorrow.

When this act finishes, I may need to take a short break as the first chapter of the next act is the one I fear the most trying to write, as I will know less than nothing about how to put it down in words, but is key to the final act's story.

Wish me luck?

Chapter 36: Calling Reinforcements

The moment Cassie entered her apartment, she dropped to her knees and broke down. Everything she and Angel had done over the past few years came with great risk; she knew this, but this hit her in her heart, and Cassie felt more fear now than at any point in her life. With a deep breath, Cassie pushed herself to stand and to focus. Grieving will come later, she told herself, and she walked on semi-steady feet to her bedroom. Sitting down at the desk with her radio equipment, Cassie took hold of her headset and placed it on her head while she dialed up the Frequencies she’d need. As she worked, she heard the apartment door open.

“Cassie?” Charlie’s voice drifted into the bedroom.

“I’m in my room, Charlie. Would you be a dear and make us some tea? I need it!”

She heard Charlie’s voice thankful for the task: “On it!”

Refocused on her previous task, Cassie dialed up the number she needed, having connected her home phone line to the system so she could call anyone she needed using the same headset she used for the Frequencies. She only hoped Brute was home. A wash of relief eased her fear when the line clicked, and a gruff, baritone voice answered warmly, “Hey, Chatterbug. Long time. How are you?”

“Angel’s in trouble."  Cassie loved Brute, but there was no time for pleasantries. 

She was grateful for his training as his voice changed, turning serious, “What’s happened?”

“You’ve heard of Bible, right? The crime lord running rampant over the East Coast the last few years?”

“Yes. He deals in drugs and contraband, correct?”

In that moment, Cassie cursed herself for not keeping her old team up to speed on what she and Angel had been doing since the service, “And in the last few years, he’s turned to trafficking children. The area Angel focuses on.”

“Shit. He has Angel?”

Good ol Brute, clear-headed for such a thick head, “Yes. He’s been taken to Libya. I have at most forty-eight hours to get there to make the trade.”

“What does he want you for?” 

“Look, it’s a story best told in person. Can I count on you, and the others?”

“You know it, Chatterbug. We may be apart, but we’re always a team. I’ll call Snapshot, Shrapnel and Panther immediately. Panther may be the hardest to get, though.”

“She has kids, I know. But she’s the best scout slash tracker outside of Angel I’ve ever known. Still, tell her I’ll understand if she doesn’t feel up to it.”

“Honestly, it’s because she has kids that I’m sure will motivate her. Especially once I tell her about Bible.”

“Do you still have your pilot’s license and jet?” Cassie bit her lip in hope.

“It’s how we’re going to get to you in good time.” Brute allowed a small laugh despite the seriousness, “I promise you. We’ll be there by tomorrow night. We owe you. We owe Angel.”

“He never faulted any of you for staying, Brute; you know that, right?”

“We know. We fault ourselves. I have calls to make. I will call you in the morning with our E.T.A. and Cassandra?” 

In all the years they’d worked together and known each other, Brute had never called her by her real name, and it told her something. “Yes?”

“Don’t fall. You’re not alone. You never were.”

A sob escaped Cassie’s lips: “Thank you, Francis.”

“Call you soon.”

The line went dead, and Cassie pulled the headset off and leaned back in her chair, drained. She opened her eyes as Charlie placed a hot cup of tea on the desk and sat on the bed with her own cup in hand, “I like Brute. His voice is soothing and commanding.”

“He was second in command of our group and the one who supported Angel’s promotion ahead of him. He always admired my brother, his skills, and his planning. He’s the one who called Angel’s tactics ‘4-D chess’. It’s also why he and the others stayed in service after we left. They wanted to make sure what happened never happened again. They’re the reason Colonel Tag was dishonorably discharged.”

“Even though Angel was also discharged for what he did?”

“Yeah, and it was utter bullshit! I don’t know what happened to Tag after that, but I hope he’s rotting somewhere for the rest of his days.”

Charlie took a sip of her hot tea, silently agreeing after hearing the story Angel had told her. Cassie took a sip of her own tea and looked at it for a full minute, her mind lost. Charlie cleared her throat, which startled Cassie, and she set the cup down and gave a lopsided, humourless smile. “I don’t want to do the next part.”

“What’s the next part?” Charlie asked, biting her lip.

“Calling the police about Davis and the store and...” Cassie’s voice shook with the next words. “Calling his mother.”

“Cassie?” Charlie’s voice pulled Cassie’s eyes her way.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to say.” Charlie paused, and Cassie nodded for her to continue. “But… I truly and firmly believe Davis is in heaven and at peace.”

Cassie closed her eyes and said, “I hope you’re right, Charlie. I really hope you’re right.”

Cassie turned back to the desk to make the call when her police scanner’s static buzzed through with a report, “Dispatch to all units. Respond to the Hyatt Regency at 601 Loyola St.. Reports of two FBI agents down. FBI enroute. Proceed with caution. Suspects locations unknown.”

“No.” Cassie shook her head. “Please, no.”

“Amanda!” Charlie stood, spilling hot tea on her wrist but she ignored it. “No, no, no!”

“That’s why she never showed up. Rygen got to her first.” Cassie deduced, slamming her fist on the desk. “God-Fucking-Dammit! I’m going to kill the motherfucking demon!”

Fresh rage seeped into Charlie, but she pooled it into a ball and turned Cassie in her chair to face her, “Cassie. You told me to get a hold of myself. You need to do the same! We have to save Angel. Focus!”

Cassie nodded, dialed up the police number, and made the report, stating all the details she could and pleading with them to hurry. Dispatch assured her a unit would be routed to her immediately. Once she’d hung up, Cassie stood and turned to Charlie, “You’ll need to go invisible while they’re here. They may want to check out the apartment or the roof, and I can't explain you right now.”

“I understand. I’m used to it.” Charlie’s voice was calm, but Cassie understood the pain.

“One day, you’ll never have to hide, again. I promise.” Cassie grabbed Charlie in an embrace they both desperately needed.

“I’m not angry, sis. This time, I really do understand. I just wish I didn’t have too, so I could stand by your side through it all.”

“I know you’ll be near. It’ll be enough. For now." Cassie squeezed Charlie who reciprocated in kind.

 

***

 

Twenty-five minutes later, Cassie stood outside of her shop and watched two cruisers and an ambulance pull up. She greeted the officers and pointed the medics inside. Charlie watched from the hallway and listened to all the details Cassie gave the police, her heart aching at the re-telling of events, which only served to fuel her anger more. For the next ninety minutes, the police taped off sections, laid markers around Davis’ body, and then Cassie was greeted by a detective, who noted that the attacks were similar to the ones at the hotel. Cassie feigned any knowledge of the hotel attack, yet she was tactfully able to confirm that one of the agents was female. The detective asked why she thought the store would be a target as well, and Cassie had to put on a good performance to lie and say she had no idea. It was convincing enough for the detective, at least for the time being, and he thanked her for her assistance and offered sincere apologies for the loss of her friend. Cassie sniffed and thanked the detective, who added that he would be in touch once they had more information. Cassie stepped away and turned her head as the medics lifted Davis onto a stretcher and covered his body. It was another thirty minutes when the final officers told Cassie they had to tape off the entrances and advised her not to not enter until the investigation was over. Cassie assured them she had no intention of returning to the store anytime soon, and in her heart, Cassie wondered if she ever would. Finally, the last officer got into the lone remaining squad car and left the scene, leaving dozens of curious onlookers wondering what happened. As she stood outside the side door, which was now locked and taped off, Cassie jumped when her cell phone rang. She reached into her pocket, pulled it out, and saw it was Brute.

“Brute.” Cassie answered; no other words felt safe to say.

“I’m en route to the airport to fly out to D.C. The others are driving to D.C. as we speak. We’ll be there by early afternoon. We got you, Bug.”

“Thank you.” Cassie’s voice cracked. 

“Anything for our angels.” Brute said and hung up.

Cassie tried to not cry again, but the effort was for naught when she felt invisible arms wrap around her from behind her, and she felt Charlie’s warmth envelop her and once again, tears seeped from Cassie’s eyes as the two wept together. 

Notes:

I truly hope our heroes face no more loss. I don't think they have any tears left to shed. :(

Chapter 37: Angel Meets Bible

Bible sat back in his oversized black leather chair as he watched the security monitor on his massive oak desk, which displayed the helipad, which sat approximately one hundred yards from his compound. As he chewed on his cigar, Bible felt especially angry with the events over the past few days. He had lost valuable merchandise and had to eliminate a valuable source in the FBI, all of which cost him considerable money and connections, both of which would be difficult to replace, and his clients were extremely dangerous, so delays in shipments would not be tolerated. Still, if Samedi succeeded in his plan to capture Angel’s demon friend, whom Samedi believed to be the daughter of Lucifer himself, then Bible’s power would be untouched. 

The mix of anger and anticipation stirred other, more vile feelings. Reaching forward, Bible placed his cigar in the steel ashtray to his left and pushed a button on the landline phone to his right.

“Sir?” A business like male voice answered immediately.

“How soon before Samedi arrives?”

“He is en route from the airport. E.T.A. forty five minutes.”

More than enough time. “Good. Call down to the cells. I wish to sample a piece of the merchandise. Have the commander in charge pick one and bring it to my suite, immediately.”

“As ordered.” The crisp response came before the line went dead.

Bible’s lip twisted up, wicked and perverted, as he stood and pulled his white dress shirt down to smooth the wrinkles. He didn’t specify which piece to bring, but his men knew very well; the younger, the better. 

***

Approximately fifty minutes later, four men in tan-white military fatigues with M16’s slung over their shoulders moved outward from the helipad as a UH-IY Venom military helicopter descended vertically until it touched down smoothly in the center of the pad. Two moved in to secure the copter to the pad, and the other two came over and helped to pull the door open. The same two men from the plane who’d secured Angel now lifted him out of his chair in the chopper and pushed him towards the two outside, who took his arms and lifted him down to the dusty, sandy concrete of the pad. As they moved him away, Samedi and Rygen, having returned to his own human form, stepped out behind them.

Rygen looked around, sniffing the air. “This place reeks of evil. It smells like the wrath ring of hell.”

“Then you should feel right at home.” Samedi dismissed his observation as he pointed for Rygen to follow the soldiers leading Angel towards a hanger door leading to Bible’s compound. 

When they entered, Samedi ordered Angel to be taken to his altar room, the place where most of his satanic rituals took place and the source of most of his power. Samedi hated the rundown nature of the compound, mostly due to the dust and grime from the surrounding desert, but he did very much enjoy the solitude. He spent much of his time building his power, most of it secret to Bible, and knew he would be able to secure the demon princess in a particularly nasty summoning circle once she’d arrived. 

Once they entered the altar room from a long hallway that branched out into cross halls in a nearly maze like compound, Samedi flicked a switch, and a single bulb, hanging from a long electrical cable, flared to life, and he ordered Angel to be bound into shackles along the far wall, which was flaked with reddish brown paint. With the shackles latched in place, the guards stood back, and Angel glared at Samedi.

“You’re sealing your doom, Samedi.”

Samedi merely laughed as he turned to his altar to prepare the spell. Angel, however,  had looked towards Rygen and noted his uncomfortable stance. Licking his lips to get some moisture in them from the dry air, Angel tried a different tactic and addressed Rygen directly, “You know I’m right, demon.”

“Shut up.” Rygen growled. His voice and body language told Angel he’d hit a nerve.

“Charlie told me how she got the best of you, drove a spear through you, and killed you. Gotta say, you make one hell of a weak hellhound.”

Rygen shouted angrily, changed into his demon form, and lunged at Angel. 

Samedi spun on his heels and commanded, “Rygen! Stop!”

The power of the binding spell caused Rygen to skid to a halt, his claws scraping into the stone flooring. He turned his dark gaze upon Samedie. “You don’t need him alive, Master. The bitch will come, either way!”

“Bible wants him alive, so he will remain alive.”

“I want to feast!” Rygen complained.

“Whiny little bitch.” Angel mocked him, testing the bind and taking a risk on his own life doing so.

“I will eat you slowly, fucker!” Rygen dug his claws into the flooring, tearing up chunks of it.

“Rygen.” Samedi sighed and flicked his wrist. Rygen felt an invisible chain pull him back. “You’re damaging myaltarr.”

A deep growl answered Samedi and he shook his head, and stated,. “I won’t have peace to finish my spell if I don’t let you have a bit of fun.”

The words stirred fear in Angel and he looked between them as Rygen gave Samedi a curious look. “Master?”

“Bible ordered Angel to be taken alive. He did not clarify in what state of living Angel needed to be. You may… play… with him, but do not break him.”

With a shift of his feet, Angel tried to press himself back against the wall and appear smaller and less threatening. “Shit.” He thought to himself. 

Angel watched as Rygen morphed into a dopplenganger of him and stalked up and with a pull back of his arm, slammed his fist into Angel’s midsection. Angel grunted but could not double over due to the shackles.

“Went too far, didn’t you?” Rygen struck again, and Angel felt a rib crack under the power of Rygen’s strikes. “But hey, don’t beat yourself up too much about it.” 

Samedi let out a small laugh at the joke as a third punch landed on the kidneys, and Angel screamed in pain. “You’re only human, and so-so fragile.”

Samedi tuned out the sounds of Rygen’s assault on Angel and returned to his preparations, gathering the powder he’d use to draw the circle and three vials of human blood he’d drawn from some of the merchandise brought in on previous shipments. Each one was from a certified virgin and much more powerful than the blood he’d taken from the dead girl in the warehouse. Selecting a half dozen black candles, he sat them on a side cart he’d brought in the first time he’d visited the compound. This would be the most complex binding spell he’d ever attempted, considering his target was already on Earth and shared the blood of Lucifer. A few modifications to the spell would be needed, and Samedi was wise enough to admit to himself that he was not completely confident that he would tweak it just right.

“STOP!”

The loud, commanding voice of Bible, dressed in a silk bathrobe with real gold trim, startled both Samedi and Rygen, the former stopping in mid strike to turn his bloodthirsty eyes on the intruding voice. Unconsciously, Rygen snapped.  “Who dares?”

Samedi didn’t have a chance to warn Rygen. Bible moved in large strides, clearing the distance between them rapidly as the demon shifted into his hellhound form and flared his nostrils at the stranger. Without blinking at the magical change before him, Bible backhanded the demon into the corner. Rygen shouted in surprise at the strength of the stranger, and was about to lunge when Samedi stepped between them, facing Rygen.

“Do as Bible commands.”

Swiping his paw across his bloodied lip, Rygen glared at Bible. “You have power.”

“Yes.” Bible’s one word explained everything. He turned to look at Angel, bloodied, and bent over, head down, his breath raspy. 

“Took some liberties?”

“I allowed Rygen a bit of fun, yes. It kept him quiet.”

Bible shook his head, looking down at Angel’s broken body, and saw that the punishment had knocked him unconscious.  “I should have been more precise on the condition I’d prefer him in, but as long as he’s alive to see his demon bitch kill him, I’ll allow you to set the plan that fits your talents best.”

“Thank you.” Samedi said with sincerity, adding internally, “I will be doing just that.”

Bible grabbed the hem of his bathrobe and kneeled down to one knee in front of Angel. With the palm of his gruff hand, he lifted Angel’s chin and admired Rygen’s handiwork. One eye was swollen shut from the strikes, and the other fluttered, which told Bible that Angel was trying to regain consciousness.

“You look so much worse than the last time I saw you.” Bible said it with a thin trace of malice in his voice. “Which is better than you deserve.”

Bible’s voice began to seep into Angel’s thoughts, which conjured up visions and memories. Memories that had haunted him for years. With a deep swallow of copper tasting saliva, Angel opened his one semi-good eye and focused on Bible. Shock and rage filled him and he uttered one word.

“You!”

Notes:

This ends Act 4? I lost track. LOL.

The next chapter is going to be the biggest struggle I've faced since I started this story, and the one I will have to fake the most. It will be the story everyone's been waiting for: What happened to Angel in the military. Since I have no idea how to write this kind of fiction, it will likely come across terrible to any reader who's well versed in military procedure. None the less, the fiction aspect is what I need to convey, and I hope I somehow manage to do so good enough so it fits well into the over all narrative.

Because of this, it may be a little longer before the next chapter of AD is posted. I might write a couple chapters of AD after the next chapter in the meantime, so that when the next one does get posted, it may be followed closely by 1 or more that I wrote in the meantime.

And on a personal note; taking all this time to build up the story allowed me to finally reconcile how to explain Charlie's memory loss, in a way that I think is rather creative and will lead to a very emotional ending.

Chapter 38: Angel's Assignment

Libya Desert - 2011

 

“You,” A younger, less weary, yet sand-dusted-looking Angel asked, “Think this is the last munitions stronghold left?” Dressed in tan-colored military fatigues, an M-16 rifle slung over his shoulder, his eyes darted along each line of text in the folder he held in his hands. Angel scratched his full beard and mustache, brushing grainy sand out, relieving a nagging itch. He stood in a small makeshift command tent on the opposite side of a folded table where a gruff older Colonel sat. Attired in a similar fashion, he chewed on a cigar, with his one good eye watching Angel review the material.

“That’s what our intel suggests.” The Colonel nodded as he pulled out the cigar and spit on the sand-covered ground. “While this war is coming to a close, we believe that the terrorists were able to collect and stash a large amount of ordinance, some of it US-issued. We want all that back. Along with anything else they have, so they can’t try this fucking bullshit against us again.”

Angel nodded absentmindedly as he flipped through the material. “Architectural plans. City plans. Sewer plans and the likely size of the cell. You gathered a lot, Colonel Tag.”

“I went the extra mile, since it’s you.” Colonel Tag smiled. “You’ve come such a long way since the Academy days, Kevin. Your mind is a steel trap, and it has been a real pleasure to train you personally, watching you rise in ranks faster than most anyone. Your strategies played a large part in turning the tide in this campaign.”

“I’m honored.” Angel smirked while reviewing the last couple of details in the folder. “I can’t say enough how much it meant to me that you took me under your wing and trained me in your ways. You have one of the most esteemed reputations in the corp. It’s a loss for us that you’re retiring next year.”

“I expect you to keep rising. You may even become a Colonel at a record rate, Kevin.” Tag complemented.

“I’ll never fill your shoes, sir, I can only honor them.”

“And I’m sure you will.” Tag nodded, then said in a serious tone as he chewed on his cigar. “This mission will close out our war with the faggots, and we’ll send a clear message against planning another attack like Nine-Eleven again.”

“I’ll be sure to leave no room spared from our assault, sir.” Kevin closed the folder and placed it under his arm.

“Good. However.” Tag’s voice pulled Angel’s attention. “To ensure that the cell doesn’t destroy anything in the firefight, I want you to douse the structure in smoke grenades and go in with masks and thermal goggles. Clear the rooms so I can send a second team in to collect the weapon stash.”

“That was my thought, exactly.” Angel nodded in agreement. “We’ll go in at dusk, with the sun low and on our backs. Brute and I will likely do the leg work inside. Snapshot will take out those who try to run off. Panther will scout this afternoon, to confirm that the architecture matches, in case they boarded up or added any windows or escape routes since these were drafted. She’ll be on our six on the ground for the assault.”

“Perfect.” Tag smiled. “Oh, and I will have a little surprise for you when you meet back up with your team later. I called in a favor to get you a communications officer who's at the top of their field. Her team’s been clearing out stragglers the last couple of weeks in the other sector across the country. I asked her CO if we could get her for this mission.”

“Sir?” Angel looked concerned. “You know I work best with a team I’m used to. Someone new and unknown is a factor that’s not easy to add to an already complicated puzzle.”

Tag smirked but used his command voice. “You have your orders, Sergeant.” 

Angel snapped to attention. “Yes, Sir!” 

Tag added with a kinder voice. “I’m sure you’ll find her valuable and an easy inclusion into your group. Trust me.”

“I do, Sir!’ Angel saluted Tag.

“Then you are dismissed. Go prepare your team. Have your new communications officer radio me once you have the plan ready and a time set.”

“Yes, Sir!” Angel turned on his heels and walked out of the make-shift tent.

Tag drew on his cigar and blew out a puff of smoke. Behind him, the tent flap was pulled back as another soldier, dark-skinned, lanky, and tall, entered. “Do you think he suspects?”

“Of course not.” Tag’s smile turned cold. “He wouldn’t dare take on this mission if he did. Have you confirmed the merchandise?”

“Yes.” The soldier said,. “US grade munitions. Missiles and experimental drones, and approximately 25 billion in gold bars. Plus the twenty civilian prisoners.”

“More than enough to start my new endeavor after I retire. We’ve made some great connections during these last couple of engagements. It’s a shame for the civilains, but they’re expendable waste. We’ll be able to recoup the cost once we begin our own little franchise.”

“And if Angel catches wind and doesn’t complete the mission?”

“He will. His mind is too focused on the tactics. He’ll follow his own plan to the letter. With the smoke and goggles I ordered to be used, he won’t differentiate soldiers from civilians, especially since I kept that piece of info out of the file, and your little trick should confuse him, as well.”

“I make no promises that the illusion spell will trigger or hold. I am still learning my trade.”

“It’s a risk we have to take. Any extra leverage will help our cause.”

“I will have the trucks ready to pull the merchandise out once Angel has completed his part. If there’s nothing else?”

“No. Go prepare the trucks, Lieutenant Samedi.” 

The soldier saluted and left the same way he’d come in. 

Tag chewed on his Cigar. “Follow my word, Angel, and bring me my spoils.” Tag reached over to his right side and picked up a book that had been placed on top of a few files, to keep them from flying off with the various wind gusts. His one good eye followed his fingers as they brushed over the leather cover, tracing the cross with coarse fingers, and smiled coldly. With a flip of the cover, and leaning back in his chair, Colonel Robert Tag read silently from the Bible.

Notes:

Did you figure out who Bible was? I either laid enough, too many, or not enough clues.

Note - I had to modify an earlier chapter to fit Samedi in. In the call to Bible, he originally described Angel unaware of who he was. I changed a few bits for him to know who it was after a comment from Bible. It was spontaneous to put him as a budding Wiccan in the military and already in league with Colonel Tag.

There will be a lot of revision to Angel's Demon and the final pre-print version will be posted here. I'll announce that as a chapter when the day comes, along with as many notes as I can remember to add, so readers can either re-visit the story or see the changes, themselves.

Originally this was to be both the assignment and mission, but as I've been learning while writing, it's a good idea to have different chapters for scenes, and this will give me time to work on the next one a bit longer. I know this will be three chapters without Charlie but we'll get our beloved demon center stage, soon enough.

Chapter 39: I'm Ready For This

Notes:

I decided to get back to Charlie and Cassie before the events of the past are fully revealed. I did this to introduce the team to Charlie and the readers, so when they appear in the next chapter, a bit of who they are is already known and I can focus on the events I have to write. It also was fun to write, and easier than the task ahead.

Fill Your Soul with the fear of losing

The man that you love, Your reason to war

Become the princess which you’ve been destined

      And fight with all that you are.

Cassandra Elizabeth Collins

PRESENT DAY

Charlie held her arms against her breasts and shivered. Despite the warm, muggy night air, and her hot demon blood, fear was chilling her to the bone. Her eyes hurt from all the crying, and what little make up she’d chosen to wear over the last six months had left black streaks down her light skin colored face and smudged against her reddish cheeks. A soft sniff escaped her, and she looked to her left, where Cassie was watching a Falcon 8X aircraft come in for a landing on the airstrip at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. After the early morning call from Brute that they were en route and due at the airport in less than two hours, Cassie had pulled a couple of trunks out of her bedroom closet and, with Charlie’s help, moved them to the couch in the living room. 

“What’s in these?” Charlie had asked, and Cassie shared a small grin as she flipped the first one open to reveal an array of crystals, powders, and other magical items.

“The shop didn’t have all my inventory.” Cassie announced. “The most powerful items I keep are stored up here. Rygen fucked up.”

Charlie was awed by the various items in the chest, and Cassie explained a few of them, warning her that they were the magics she mentioned the night she worked on Angel. With what they were going into, Cassie needed to protect herself. Charlie agreed and told her that no matter what happens, she understood. Cassie said she planned to use all of this on Rygen and take him out of the picture all together. Charlie voiced her concern but Cassie told her point blank to accept that Cassie was a part of this and will do her part. Charlie simply nodded. Cassie then told Charlie to gear up and they’d be leaving in an hour. Charlie spent the next hour gathering the items Angel had in his duffel bag: a few GPS tags, a long knife, and a sheath she clasped onto her waist. She then reloaded her tranqulizer armband with the last six tranq darts Angel had prepped for her. As she was finishing up, Cassie stepped out of the bedroom dressed in dark green, brown, and black army fatigues, her hair piled up in a bun under a Feld patrol cap, and a large duffel bag over her shoulder. Charlie whistled, impressed with the air of command Cassie presented. Cassie blushed slightly, saying she hadn’t been in uniform since she left the service with Angel.

Now, as they stood on the tarmac watching Brute’s plane taxi their way, Cassie spoke up as she handed Charlie a couple of tissues from her breast pocket. “They’ll obviously be curious as to who you are, Charlie, but I don’t want to introduce you or reveal what you are until we’re in the air. I trust them, but it may be a difficult thing for some of them, and I think it’s best we’re in private.”

“I won’t go full demon.” Charlie said while dabbing her messy cheeks. “I saw how I scared Amanda, and it hurt.”

They both went silent for a moment, thinking of Amanda, before Cassie continued. “Good idea. Just enough so I can drive home the point of the mission—that you are not to be babied or protected. You’re leading.”

“I’m no leader, Cassie. I’ve never been in war, that I know of anyway. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“No one ever really knows when they’re ready until destiny calls upon them, sweetie.” Cassie saw that Charlie had missed a spot, took one of the tissues, and gently wiped her dirty cheek. “Though, I do have to ask you: Are you ready to take a life if it calls for it?”

“Ready? No. Willing?” She paused and took a deep breath. “Yes.” Charlie felt the bile in her stomach turn with such an admission, and she had to remind herself of who they were up against, how evil Bible, Samedi, and Rygen really were, and yet killing still nauseated her. “But losing Angel scares me far more than having to become the monster I never wanted to be.”

Cassie gripped Charlie’s hands in hers and looked at her with commanding eyes. “Fill your soul, Charie, with that fear. The fear of losing the man that you love.” Cassie laid a hand on her shoulder, “He’s your reason to war.” Cassie then tapped the amulet under Charlie’s black T-shirt. “Become the Princess you’re destined to be, and you will fight with all that you are.”

“That sounded poetic.” Charlie smiled softly.

“Did it?” Cassie tilted her head, thoughtfully, and chuckled, “I admit, it sounded kinda sing-songy in my head as I said it.” 

“I’ve been singing.” Charlie admitted. “On the roof the last few nights. It felt so natural to me, and I felt something familiar in my soul, almost maternally.”

“Maybe some of your memories found a way to the surface, through your songs.” Cassie offered, “And I think that’s really beautiful.”

Charlie blushed softly. “I still can’t remember who I am, but I feel like I know who I am. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it’s helped me feel more in control.”

“I am so sorry I have not been able to find a way to give your memories back to you.” Cassie sighed. “If it had been within my power...”

“I know, sis.” Charlie stopped her by placing a hand on Cassie’s cheek. “But I’ve come to accept that I may never remember all of who I was, and I am okay with that as long as I don’t lose Angel, or you.”

“You won’t.” Cassie swore. “Brute’s as good a tactician as Angel, and we’ll come up with a plan to get Angel out and stop Bible once and for all.”

“Then I think I’m as ready as I can be.”

“Good!” Cassie held up her hand for a high five, and Charlie gave her a quizical look. “Really? You’ve never high-fived before.”

Charlie shook her head, and Cassie let out a soft laugh. She showed Charlie how to high-five, and they did, with Charlie laughing as well, some of the fear numbed for a moment. They turned as the plane came to a stop near them. Cassie picked up her duffel bag and motioned for Charlie to follow her. As they approached, the side door opened, and a large, husky man, nearly 6’6 ft tall and broad-shouldered, carrying a hefty weight that was almost all muscle, smiled as he saw Cassie approaching.

“Bug!” The man shouted over the engines that were still running, “I’ve got the tower ready to get us back in the air. Buckle up, buttercups!”

Cassie laughed. “Brute! All business as usual.”

“We got an angel to save; get your asses on board now!” Brute gruffly said, adding a wink as he lowered the staircase and grabbed Cassie’s duffel as she started up the steps. Brute gave Charlie a cursory glance but stepped back to let both women board. Once they were past him, he pulled up the stairs and closed the door. “Go through the galley and get seated. Once we’re in the air, I’ll put it on autopilot, and we’ll get the briefing underway.”

“Yes, sir!” Cassie responded and guided Charlie through the small galley into a more open space with large, extremely comfortable seats, and Charlie saw three others seated. Her eyes scanned them quickly, accessing them when the one man nearest lifted a camera and clicked a picture, startling Charlie.

Cassie smirked. “Charlie, this is Snapshot. He’s our sniper and wedding photographer.” 

Snapshot, a six-foot tall, muscular-built man with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a thin mustache, chuckled. “Maybe one day, if you’d ever settle down.”

“Not likely.” Cassie tossed her duffel into an empty seat and motioned for Charlie to sit in the one next to it, which faced Snapshot and the other two. Cassie sat in a third seat and pointed to the next man. “This is Shrapnel, our demonlitions expert.”

“A P-pleasure to m-meet you.” Shrapnel, at five-foot seven and scars on his face and arms, stuttered but smiled kindly at Charlie. 

“Your hands are still steady, at least?” Cassie teased Shrapnel, who laughed and said in a clearer voice. “My hands are perfect. I’m just shy around pretty l-ladies.”

“Then use sign language.” Cassie quipped, which elicited a rowdy laugh from Snapshot and a soft chuckle from a woman in the next row back from the men, who Charlie hadn’t seen till now. Shrapnel rolled his eyes.

Cassie nodded her head next towards the woman, a seemingly delicate and demure woman with cropped red hair and green eyes, which seemed to bore right through Charlie, which made her squirm in her seat. “Charlie, this is Panther. She’s our tracker, scout and can disappear almost as good as you.”

Panther gave a crisp nod, eyes serious. “While it is good to see you, Chatterbug, we can do pleasantries later. Fill us in?”

“Always to the point, Panther.” Cassie snapped her seatbelt. “But I want to wait until Brute’s back here with us. There’s a lot to explain.”

“Very well.” Panther’s tone was stoic. 

Cassie sighed. “I’m sorry to call all of you in like this.”

Panther cut in. “Forgive me, Bug; I don’t mean to sound cold and aloof about this. I’m here for Angel, but I heard about Bible, and as a mother...

“I know.” Cassie solemnly said. “I don’t want you putting yourself at unnecessary risk. Charlie and I are leading the main mission. You all are meant to eliminate those who get in the way, and rescue the children.”

At the mention of Charlie, the three look at her with intense curiosity. 

“Her?” Shrapnel asked?

“Sorry, I got ahead of myself. Once we’re in the air, okay?”

The three nod but it’s obvious they’re impatient. Brute’s voice came across the speakers: “We’re clear for take off. Once we’re at altitude, I’ll turn off the seatbelt sign and be back there with you.”

Everyone answered with silence, the light feeling of introductions doused with their thoughts of who Charlie was, as well as the danger Angel was in. They felt the plane make the necessary turns and line up for takeoff, and soon they were in the air. Minutes passed while everyone busied themselves with personal things. Snapshot played with the settings on his camera. Shrapnel flipped through a manual of explosives, occasionally writing down notes and Panther sat back in her chair, eyes closed, meditating. A ding signaled that the seatbelt sign had been turned off, and everyone came to attention as Brute came down through the galley and took a seat next to Snapshot.

“Okay, Cassie. What’s the mission?”

“First.” Cassie held up a hand and turned to Charlie. “Charlie, this is Brute. The toughest, more formidable teddy bear you’d ever meet. He is the wall you want your back to. He’ll be in charge of the mission on the outside, while we’re inside.”

“Brute.” Charlie nodded, her eyes wet again. “Thank you so much for coming.”

“So.” Snapshot spoke up, his curiosity winning. “Who is Charlie?”

All eyes turned to Cassie, who looked at Charlie. “Charlie. You’re up.”

With a small nod, Charlie unclicked her seatbelt, stood, and walked into the empty space between the chairs that were facing each other, so all four could see her clearly. She turned in a slow circle as she spoke. “My name is Charlotte Morningstar, and I am Angel’s partner and girlfriend. I have been working with him for the past few months, seeking out and saving children that have been taken by Bible and others. I am the reason he’s been kidnapped by Bible. Bible and Samedi want me, and he is the trap to lure me in for a trade. A trade I know won’t be made. I won’t let Angel be killed, and I expect all of you to do your very best to help me see him safe.”

“Why in the hell would they want you?” Brute eyed her up and down. “You’re clearly neither a child, nor a soldier, so what the fuck does Bible want with you?”

“It’s more about what I am, than who I am.” 

“Meaning?” Panther queried.

Charlie looked over her shoulder as Cassie, who nodded the go-ahead, and addressed the group. “What you’re about to see, do not react, only spectate.”

That caused everyone to look at everyone else, and then back to Charlie, who had closed her eyes. She stood in silence for a moment as she debated on what to reveal. What would drive home the point, but not be too scary? With that question, the answer came and Charlie smiled softly as her body began to emit a soft, whitish glow and the gasps from all told her they saw her wings unfold behind her, spreading out to brush against the windows on each side of the plane. 

“Oh, my God.” Shrapnel whispered.

“What…is…she?” Brute whispered.

Snapshot, eyes wide, lifted his camera and took a picture without thinking. This caused Charlie to snap her eyes open, which had gone blood red, and her demon voice blended with her soft human voice. “No pictures!”

The voice and eyes caused yelps as the group fell back in their chairs. Charlie shook her head, and added, “Please? I don’t want to be discovered.”

“Cassie?” Brute turned to her. “What is this?”

“Charlie Morningstar is the Princess of Hell, and the daughter of Lucifer, and she is my sister.” Cassie emphasized the last bit, which made Charlie warm. “Angel found her months ago when she was summoned to Earth by a spell gone wrong. She lost her memories, but found much of who she is as she worked by Angel’s side. They grew fond of each other, and fell in love. Bible somehow learned of her, though, and sent a demon named Rygen to capture her, and kill Angel. He failed in both the first time. Now, it seems, Bible has chosen to set up a trade. Angel for Charlie.”

As Cassie laid out a quick history, Charlie tucked her wings in and returned to her seat. However, she chose to drive home the point of what she was by keeping her eyes red against the warm yellow of her scalera. In doing so, there was an air of electrical energy around her that kept the hairs of the group on end. When Cassie wrapped up the events of the day before. Her shop destroyed, Davis and Amanda killed, the group had taken it all in as professionally as she expected.

“So.” Brute clarified. “If Bible gets his hands on Charlie and binds her, he becomes almost invincible?”

“Yes.” Cassie said with a nod. “And he’ll have her kill Angel, no doubt.”

“Then why are we letting you and her go in, alone, unarmed? You’ll just be giving her to him?” Panther’s voice said she did not approve of the plan.

“He said come alone.” Cassie answered. “But I’m sure he knows we won’t. By going in as he’s ordered, we can keep you four out of sight as long as possible. Plus, Angel is our responsibility. Yours is getting the kids that are locked up, out and clear. We’re both going to be distractions for the other’s missions.”

“I still don’t like it.” Panther countered. “If Bible takes Charlie, all is for naught.” 

“I have something cooked up for that.” Cassie assured Panther..

Charlie looked at her. “What?”

Cassie held up a hand. “Trust me, sis, for this one I need to play it close to the vest. Okay?”

“Very well.” Brute accepted the situation. “Did Bible tell you where to go?”

“Yes. And I looked up what I could on the net. Unfortunately, his compound isn’t listed anywhere, so I could not get any architectural plans.”

“Then it’ll be up to me.” Panther spoke up. “How much time will we have once we arrive?”

“A few hours, at the most.” Cassie answered. “I have to make contact with him when we land. I’m going to stall that so by the time we arrive, it’ll be dark.”

“Excellent.” Panther smiled. “I’ll scout the perimeter and see what I can gather for intel. I won’t have much time, so it’ll be a dirty scout.”

“Charlie and I will have airtags on us.” Cassie motioned between her breasts. ”So you can keep track of our movements, and if we get a chance, we’ll deviate from the path so you can get an idea of where rooms are.”

“That’ll help a bit, if they let you.” Brute nodded. “Once Panther has given us the intel, Shrapnel will lay ordinance at three exit points. We’ll set the rendezvous, and the other two will be decoys. Snapshot will snipe anyone who gets in our way at that point.”

“We have no idea where the children are being held.” Cassie added. “For that, you’ll just have to go in with ‘brute’ force.”

“My favorite.” Brute smirked. 

“I will have an earpiece, but Charlie will have to go in without one. I can only hope they don’t search her for weapons or take anything off her. I may have to distract for that.”

“Do your best.” Snapshot said. “We’re going in blind, but it’s not the first time we’ve had to do this. This time, however, we know more than we did the last time.”

“The children come first, team. Charlie and I can take care of ourselves. I promise.”

“And if you f-fail?” Shrapnel had to ask the question.

“Focus on saving the kids, Shrapnel. Whatever else happens, don’t let any of them down.” Cassie drove the point home to not worry about them.

A moment of uncomfortable silence filled the room. There was more to go over, but there were twelve hours to go, and Brute announced that everyone should get some rest, that there was food and drink in the galley, and that they would go over everything just before final approach. He stood and motioned for Cassie and Charlie to follow him. Once they were at the back of the plane, Brute turned abruptly and stepped up to Charlie, his frame towered over hers and he growled. “I don’t trust you.”

Charlie lifted her chin up, and let her demon flow forth, becoming the full human-demon hybrid she was. Her tail swished behind her, and she drew her forefinger claw along one of the seats, cutting the material. She was fucking around. “Because of this?”

Cassie had to suppress a smile as Brute whined, “Oh, come on. Not the seats!”

Charlie lifted her claw and played the air like a keyboard. “I don’t fucking care if you don’t trust me, Brute, I’m not going to hide, anymore. I love Angel, and I won’t let anything happen to him. You can trust THAT!”

Brute’s demeanor changed, his shoulders fell, and he held out a hand to Charlie, who looked at it suspiciously. “I needed to know what you’d say or do if I challenged you. I believe you.” He motioned his hand again, and Charlie retracted her claws and dropped her hand into his. “And I trust you. Bring our Angel home.”

Charlie nodded, folded her fingers around his massive hand, and squeezed with demon strength, enough that Brute winced slightly. Her point drove home how powerful she really was; she smiled with sharp, demon teeth. “As the princess of Hell, you have my word.” She looked at Cassie and winked. “And now that I have all of you, I know that I am ready for this!”

Chapter 40: Surprise Addtion to the Team

Libya - 2011

 

“Dude! Get your shit off my cot!” 

Those words greeted Angel as he pushed back the tent flap and stepped into his unit’s temporary housing on base, which was busy with most units stowing their gear for the return trip home. He smirked as Snapshot flung magazines and pieces of wiring towards Shrapnel, who was covered in various bits and pieces of home-made explosive material, and apparently ran out of room.

“Careful! There’s fresh glue on those!” Shrapnel yelled back, scrambling to keep the parts from falling on the floor.

“Serves you right!” Snapshot bit back. “Your shit’s all over the damned tent!”

“Guys.” Brute spoke up, lounged in a wooden chair in the corner, a thick hard-cover book in his hands that he was trying to focus on, “If you yell any louder, you’re gonna give away our position.”

“Kids.” Panther tsked as she went about stuffing her duffel bag, "Glad I don’t have any.”

Angel stood silent as he watched his team, his friends bicker about. The tone under their words was lighter than the words coming out of their mouth, and Angel knew they were really having a lot of fun. He had grown well attached to them over the past three years, when they were first assigned right out of bootcamp, and the missions they took part in only made that bond grow stronger.

“If you can’t pick up your toys,” Angel barked in a commanding tone, which got everyone’s full attention: “There won’t be anything under the tree on Christmas!”

“Aww!” Snapshot fake pouted, “And the new Sony Cybershot is due out in the fall, too!”

“Really glad I don’t have kids.” Panther scowled with an underlining grin and sat on the cot. She trained her look on Angel.

“You have something for us?”

“I do. We’re tasked with a clean-up mission, and ordinance recoup.”

“So, we’re not shipping out with the rest?” Brute closed the book and sat it on his lap.

“No. We’re to wait until the last clearout tomorrow to give the impression that no US military is still in the region.”

“Clean up?” Shrapnel frowned, "No kaboom?”

Angel laughed. “Oh, there will be kaboom. You’ll be the distraction and signal to start. We’re just waiting on one more. Colonel Tag has apparently assigned a communications officer to relay our mission to the trucks, as well as watch our six.”

“An outsider?” Brute shook his head. “Dude, we know each other inside and out; we function as one because we can read each other’s movements and thoughts. Who else is going to be able to do that?”

“Blood, maybe?” A feminine voice quipped from the tent’s loose flap.  

Angel turned towards the flap, eyes wide. “Cassie!?”

With a smile as wide as the Nile, Cassie dropped her bag, ran to Angel, and embraced him while he stood there in shock, but quickly returned the hug. “Surprise, lil brother.”

The others blinked, and Snapshot eyed Cassie with an appreciative look, “This is your sister, Angel?”

“Yes!” Angel smirked, staring at Cassie, still shocked, then added in a playfully worded warning, “Get your eyes off my sister, Snapshot.”

Cassie glanced around Angel to give Snapshot an equally appreciative look, “Don't mind my brother. You just have good taste, that's all.”

Snapshot held up one of his cameras from his cot, “I have an eye for beauty.”

“Okay, that’s enough, you two.” Angel shook his head and stepped back, “How is it that you got assigned to this mission?”

“Colonel Tag called me a couple of days ago. He knew I’d been assigned to the Fifthteenth in the outer region, and it was as close as the two of us had been since you joined. He wanted to do something special for you, as a reward for all you’ve done in the past three years.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” 

“You know why.” Cassie’s tone grew cool for a moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s not go there.” Cassie forced warmth into her voice. “Please, introduce me?”

Relieved at the change of topic, Angel turned to his unit. “Group, I know i’ve told you a little bit about my family over the years, but allow me to formally introduce you to my older sister, Cassandra Collins. Cassie, this is Brute, Snapshot, Shrapnel, and Panther.” Angel pointed to each in turn, describing their talents and position in the mission ahead. 

Cassie nodded to each, and they nodded back, and she then took over to introduce herself, “Nice to meet you. My friends call me Cassie, but out here in the field, I’m Chatterbug, the best damn field communications officer you could ever hope for.”

“Modest, too.” Panther leaned back on her cot with a smirk.

“I trust Chatterbug to carry out her assignment, as if she’s been a part of our team from the start. I expect the same from all of you.”

“Well.” Brute stood and walked over to offer his hand to Chatterbug, who took it firmly, “From what Angel has told us about you over the years, I’ve no doubt you’ll do your part.”

They shook. “You can count on it.” Chatterbug then quipped. “Squeeze any harder, and I’m going to question if you’re worried about your manhood. Trying to make an impression, Brute?”

With a smile, Brute let go. “Trying to get an impression, Bug.”

“And?”

“I’d trust you at my back.”

“Good. Same.” 

A shutter caught them by surprise. They looked at Snapshot, who’d just taken their photo. “For prosperity. Welcome to the team, Chatterbug.”

“Welcome!” Shrapnel echoed, and Pather gave a polite wave and closed her eyes, but spoke up with, “We getting briefed, or what?”

“In ten.” Angel turned towards the flap of the tent. “Chatterbug. With me.”

With a nod to the others, Chatterbug followed Angel outside. They walked about twenty yards away before Angel stopped and turned. “What’s your field experience like?”

“Are you questioning my skills after you just boasted about me to the others?” Chatterbug’s eyes narrowed.

“No. I’m asking what the most dangerous mission you’ve been on since you joined. You’re a radio girl, sis; there are no bones about it. You don’t take point, and you’re not back up. I need to know what you’ve experienced in the last four- plus years, so I don’t have to worry about you. Tag may have thought this was a gift, but honestly, sis, you’re a distraction.”

“Thought you could plan out for any variable?” Chatterbug said, now quite angry, “Isn’t 4-D Chess your game; what your team calls you? Yeah, I hear stories about you. All the time. And each time, I pray the story doesn’t end with you in a casket. When Tag called me up, he told me the mission and that you were clean up. I needed to be here. You’ve taken on countless operations in countless wars, but you always had other units still in the region. This is a first. For you. Your team. So having me aboard should be as easy to factor in as any of those.” Chatterbug paused. “Or are you just really not happy to see me?”

"Making preparations with my team is straightforward." Angel explained. "While I don't consider them expendable, I don't worry about them when we're engaged in combat. I'm able to switch off, concentrate, and plan things clearly. However, you? I don't like that I've never had to account for you as a variable, before. If Tag had given me the chance to refuse, I would not have accepted this."

“Well, I’m here now.” Chatterbug hissed as she choked back tears, “On orders. So you’re just going to have to suck it up, Sargent!”

“Cassie!” Angel started.

“It’s Chatterbug, Sir!” With that, she turned to stalk back to the tent.

Angel caught up and got in front of her, “Look! I’m sorry. It’s the first time I’ve seen you since you left home. I spent the last four years growing up without my big sister to watch out for me. I don’t know if I’m ready to watch out for you!”

The admission stopped Chatterbug short. Her eyes softened, and she leaned her head into Angel’s chest. “I promise you won’t have to worry about me.”

“I never stopped.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

Angel sighed, his chin dropped on her head. “I didn't miss the fighting.”

“Our last day.” Chatterbug chuckled softly and stepped back, “I guess we never did shed those feelings.”

“I thought we had.” Angel sighed. He shook his head, “I trust you’ll do your part. The moment Tag mentioned we’d have a communication’s officer for the mission, I started piecing together the plan.”

“Chess master.” Chatterbug smirked.

“Which only works when you know all the pieces. Come. Let’s get the briefing started. We have less than twenty-four hours before we start.”

With a nod, Chatterbug followed Angel back to the tent to prepare for the fight ahead.

Chapter 41: What Went Wrong

Angel moaned quietly in the corner of Samedi’s altar room, draped against the wall with the shackles digging into his blood-covered wrists, barely conscious but using every bit of strength possible to listen in on Samedi and Rygen’s discussion at the Altar.

“Master.” Rygen was saying, “I will admit that over the last day, I’ve come to admire how evil you really are and have enjoyed the kills and the taste of human flesh. So I beg you to take my warning seriously. The princess of hell is not one to bind. At full power, you may not be able to hold her.”

“You underestimate my power, pet.” Samedi said, with his back turned to Rygen as he mixed powders in a bowl with fresh human blood. “I bound you and learned much in the process. She is a denizen of hell and should be able to be commanded just as easily.”

“She is the product of an angel and a human, Master. As far as I know, she is the only one of her kind. I don’t know how she wound up on Earth or that she wanders freely at the side of Angel, but she is absolutely unique. Tread very lightly.” He tried a different tactic. “The majority of the kings and queens, the seven deadly sins, and numerous overlords all made fun of her in hell. Being the daughter of Lucifer was no balm or protection. However, none of them ever dared to cross her, anger her, or challenge her. Even I felt the power that swells within her, and had I known it was her the night I arrived in your shed, I would have asked for death first.”

“And yet, you were easily baited in the swamp.” Both turned harshly towards Angel, who’d lifted his chin and offered a broken lip and a bloody nosed smile. “To which, I honestly have to say, was pretty brave, for one who should still be in a whelping box.”

“Fuck you.” Rygen hissed but stood in his spot, “You won’t antagonize me anymore; you only serve to prolong your death.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Angel hissed back.

“Enough!” Samedi growled. “Both of you.” He looked squarely at Angel, “One more word out of you, and I’ll burn that mouth of yours shut.”

Angel believed him and lowered his head in defeat. 

“Ha!” Rygen laughed. “Who’s the whelp, now?”

“You are both childish.” Samedi resumed working on the spell. “And you do not need to concern yourself with the spell, pet. I learned of the failed summoning in West Virginia that the boy used to call up the princess. I know what went wrong.”

Angel whipped his head up, surprised, “What?”

Samedi turned, a cold smile on his face, “I’ll grant you that one word, dear Angel. Yes, I had an ally go and visit the child who’d done the spell.”

He saw Angel’s fear and waved his hand, “The boy is fine. There was no need to threaten or kill him. I only needed information. He did the spell quite well, actually, but the problem was that he used the wrong name.”

Angel waited, hoping Samedi would continue. He did. “See. The boy specifically called for Satan. Satan Morningstar. The problem with that is there is no Satan Morningstar. The name is Lucifer Morningstar. Had he said those words, correctly, he would have had the devil itself in his presence, and the world may not be the same as it is, now. However, he did say Morningstar, so the spell reached out and grabbed the first Morningstar it found. Your princess, Charlotte Morningstar.”

Samedi lifted the bowl off the altar, picked up a paintbrush, and walked over towards the entrance. Samedi kneeled, began to paint on the floor, and continued, “When the princess comes through this door, she will see you and rush for you, but the moment she steps into my summoning circle, she will become trapped. That will hold her long enough for me to speak the words and summon her correctly. The circle is just step one. Step two will be the words. Step three is to say her full name, and once I do, having been the first to complete the spell correctly, she will be under my control.”

Rygen watched in uncomfortable silence. Angel shook silently, fear starting to seep in. Samedi continued the markings, and added a final decree, “And once she is. I will have her kill your sister in front of you, which I know will break you, so when Rygen begins to feed on you, you will beg for death.”

“Which I won’t grant you until the morning sun rises.” Rygen hissed.

Angel felt all hope wash from him, and for the first time since the night of the mission, when he watched his world fall apart, and lost his faith in God, he looked up to the heavens and prayed.

Chapter 42: Fallen Angel

Notes:

This is the story Angel told Charlie the night they almost made love. It took me this long to figure out what happened, and how, and I know full well it's not based on real military procedure. If anyone who does know, wants to share with me how I could improve this chapter, I'd welcome it for the smaller stuff, but likely not the over all chapter... it was the most difficult and hardest piece of action I've had to write for this story, and I do not wish to re-visit it anytime, soon.

I chose this life for Angel to make his motivations and character make sense as best I could leading up to the end of the story. I really hope that the you felt for him, that I built this tension up good enough to hit you hard enough that the wait was worth it.

There is one more chapter set in the past, and then the rest of the story takes place in pretty much 'in real time' and while there are still quite a few chapters to go; we're into the final act, the final confrontations and what I hope I've foreshadowed strategically enough; revelations.

Note: When you read this chapter; Imagine the parts where Angel is laying out the plan to each of his team mates as voice over to the action happening in 'real-time' This way, hopefully, you won't be as confused. :)

The sun had set mere moments ago, and Angel signaled for the mission to begin. With night vision goggles on, he watched Panther move down the side street near the structure they were focused on.

“Panther, you’ll be scouting each of the structures surrounding our target, to ensure they’ve been properly warned or evacuated.” Angel referred to the map that Tag had provided during the briefing the day before. “Slap Glotape on each as you go.”

Panther was quick, concise and had the perimeter cleared in less than twenty minutes. The good news was that all but two structures had been cleared out in silence during the previous day, thanks to Tag’s team. 

“She’s done.” Chatterbug whispered, laying next to Angel on the rooftop, two blocks away from the target. “She’s rendezvousing with Shrapne, now.”

“Now, Shrapnel.” Angel turned the map so it was between them and Shrapnel leaned in and said, “I want you to place F-bombs here.” He pointed to an entrance, then to a second spot, and added, “And here. Intel says that most of the terrorists are likely going to be in this room, here. "  He pointed to a third spot: “And the explosions will split them down two hallways, dividing them for Brute and me.”

With Panther slipping into the alleyway where Shrapnel had been tucked away, she tapped him on the shoulder, and he nodded. With stealth, Shrapnel maneuvered with Panther on his six to the first of the two doors. There, he pulled two F-Bomb’s from his satchel. A personal explosive device similar to a cherry bomb he’d designed that had a very loud bang but did little damage. He taped one to each door hinge and flicked the armed button on the top. With a nod, he followed Panther around the structure to the other door and repeated the process.

“Distractions set.” Chatterbug updated Angel, and he nodded.

“Now, Snapshot.” Snapshot walked over to stand by Angel as he re-positioned the map yet again. “On the roof, there will be four sentries. Panther will have led Shrapnel under the cover of darkness along the walls, so they will be fine unless one of the sentries decides to go off-path and peak over the side. If that happens, take him out.”

Eye-focused through the site, Snapshot watched the four sentries moving on the roof, following their footsteps in precise patterns, never deviating. This meant that Panther and Shrapnel were able to keep quiet throughout the set-up of the decoy explosives. “No deviation.” Snapshot whispered through his mic.

“No deviation.” Chatterbug repeated this to Angel. He nodded, satisfied.

“Once the explosives are set, Brute and I will move into this position and radio Chatterbug.” He pointed to a spot right across from the main entrance to the target structure. “And she will relay to Snapshot and Shrapnel to start phase two.”

With a tap on Chatterbug’s shoulder, Angel rolled over twice until he was against the wall, slid to a kneeling position, and picked up a satchel that lay by the door. He slid the roof door open, slipped inside, and looked down the steps at Brute, who had been waiting.

“It’s go-time!” Angel moved down the steps quickly, and Brute took up position behind him and followed him out the door of the building, on the opposite side of their target. Angel radioed Chatterbug, “Unless I say otherwise, signal them in forty-five seconds to begin. Brute and I won’t give updates, but we’ll expect you to pipe through everything from the others.”

“Roger.” Chatterbug’s voice came over the wire and was added. “Go get ‘em, lil brother!”

With a silent signal to Brute, the two moved along the wall of the structure and took a sharp left down the next road until they were at the corner and could see the main entrance to their target. Angel looked at his watch and counted down. With well trained senses, Angel heard a quiet grunt from the roof as the first sentry fell from Snapshot’s snipe. At this point, Angel switched his night vision goggles to infrared and instructed Brute to do the same. Picking four smoke bombs and two gas masks out of the satchel, he dropped the bag and handed two bombs and a mask to Brute. The fall caught the attention of the other three, but before they could react, duplicate explosions rocked the building from opposite sides as Shrapnel’s F-bombs were detonated. The explosion startled the last three sentries before each one was dropped in succession by a quick, precise snipe from Snapshot. With their masks on, Angel gave the signal, and he and Brute raced across the street. Angel stepped aside as Brute did not stop, as he put his full weight into a shoulder strike and broke the front door off its hinges. Brute purposely fell with the door, and Angel turned from the side and stepped in, tossing his smoke bomb, which hit the ground and went off. Brute tossed his bomb to the left of the first. Angel’s infrared goggles picked up two surprised heat signatures, which were slow to lift their weapons, and Angel took each one out with three shots each, ensuring they were eliminated. 

“Brute, once we’re inside, Panther and Shrapnel will start laying down and  suppressing fire from the two blown doors, pinning down anyone trying to escape. It’s been confirmed that it’s all terrorists inside. This is a full sweep mission.”

“We  haven't done one of those since our first time out.” Brute had commented with concern. “Why does Tag want this done?”

“It may be the last active cell, and he wants a message sent. I don’t blame him. We lost too many innocents in these incursions. Full sweep.”

“Full sweep.” Brute echoed, order received.

Brute focused and took out three men who had run down the hallway on their ten and Angel took out others who came down a side hallway as they moved into the structure. The smoke wafted down the hallway with them, blurring their forms for the terrorists, which seemed to come out the walls in droves. While Brute laid down fire to cover Angel, he flicked the second of his bombs down the hallway towards the back of the structure where their target was being kept. The smoke caused the terrorists to fire blindly, and both Brute and Angel dropped to their bellies and sniped out each man that came through the doors. In mere moments, no one else appeared, and Angel gave the signal to move covertly down the hall. As they reached each door, Brute peered inside and confirmed there were no other stragglers. Satisfied they’d cleared the structure until the door to the back of the building, Angel broke silence and said, “Chatterbug, report.”

“Snapshot says no one ran from the structure. Panther and Shrapnel have the two other exits covered; there is no movement inside.”

“Roger. We’re at the door to the back room.”

“Now.” Angel looked at Brute during the briefing the previous day, “When we reach the door, chances are there will be a last grouping of terrorists in the room with the ordinance. Some of it is highly volatile. We’ll go in firing high and fast with the last smoke bomb. It’s a small room. So the smoke will be thicker. Trust your instincts and fire until I say otherwise. I’ll shout a number to indicate what we’re up against, and zero once I see the last one fall.”

Brute nodded then and nodded now, as they leaned against the wall on either side of the door. Angel took the last smoke bomb and prepped it, then gave a single nod to Brute, who spun to face the door and kicked with all his might, which took the door right off its hinges. Angel twisted his hand to toss the smoke bomb into the room and they both followed it in. Angel saw nearly twenty figures standing in various spots in the room, noticing the front six had assault rifles. 

“TWENTY!”

Both dropped to their left knees, raised their guns high, and fired non-stop. Angel watched the front six drop fast, none of them having raised their weapons to begin with. A sharp nag hit the back of his mind at this, but the others in the room started moving in a panicked way, as if trying to run and hide rather than fight. Angel watched each drop in turn until the last smaller figure hit the floor and lay un-moving.

“ZERO!” Angel shouted, and they stopped firing. “No movement. Let’s clear the room and let the smoke dissipate before we check on the ordinance.”

Both men turned and left the room, not looking back, and carefully moved down the hallway, checking the condition of the bodies of all the men they’d taken out. 

“Positions?” Angel radioed Chatterbug, who checked in with the others and responded.

“Shrapnel and Panther are moving in, clearing the rooms until they get to the back. Snapshot’s on his way to me.”

“Good. Brute and I need to get some air. Panther and Shrapnel are going slow, and by the time they reach the ordinance room, it should be safe to enter.”

“I’ll radio when they get there. Take a break, bro.”

“Roger.” 

As they stepped outside, Angel pulled his gas mask off, and Brute followed suit and smirked. “That went smoother than I’d expected.”

“Good to have a radio girl on our team, huh?” Angel smiled as he sat his gun down and leaned against the wall. “I was skeptical I’d be able to keep focus, but she did good.”

“That she did.” Brute grinned, “She’s definitely a Collins.” His smile lowered, “Though it was strange in the room. Those last terrorists didn’t try to defend themselves.”

Brute’s comment brought the nag back to Angel’s mind. The adrenalin had ebbed; something had definitely been off. He clicked his radio, “Chatterbug. Team’s position?”

“Hold. They’re radioing in now.” Chatterbug informed him, and there was a short pause before her voice returned, shocked and stuttered. “Oh, my God.”

“Sis?”

“Get in there. NOW!”

Brute looked at Angel, and they bolted back inside. They ran down the hall, hoping over bodies, until they came to the door to the ordinance room. Shrapnel was on his knees, head bowed, and Panther looked destroyed and enraged. She looked at Angel, “HOW DID TAG NOT KNOW?? HOW!?”

Angel swallowed and stepped into the room, and if it had not been for Brute catching him, Angel would have fallen. The twenty terrorists that lay dead among the boxes of weapons and gold bars were children. Children that appeared to be between eight and fourteen years old, fourteen boys and six girls, lay in pools of blood. The six oldest boys had guns zip-tied to their hands, so they could not have dropped them if they’d tried. Angel’s mind went blank, and he dead-stared. Brute stepped up to one of the boys to check on him. He turned to Angel in disgust and said, “His tongue’s been cut out.”

Brute checked three others, all of them with the same result. He stood and kicked a box so hard that it fell over. “How the fuck did Tag not know about this? The terrorists had prisoners. Children. We never would have come in with this intel!” 

“He knew.” Brute turned abruptly on Angel. “He had to.” Angel pointed to the gold. “And it wasn’t the weapons he was after.”

“We were set up.” Brute glowered and bent to close the eyes of a girl that was strewn over some large bags of seeds and other spoils of the war.

“And we can’t prove it.” Angel stood and walked out of the room, turned to the side, and vomited. 

“Angel?” Chatterbug’s quiet voice came over his headset. “Brother?”

Brute answered instead, “Get on the horn. Radio command. Tell them the mission’s complete.”

“Brute!” Panther hissed, “Show some fucking respect.”

“I am!” Brute spun on her, “We send the all clear, and we get people in here to take care of the kids! We’re not doing any good, just standing here.”

“And T-Tag brings in h-his t-trucks for the s-spoils.”  Shrapnel hiccuped and stuttered. Panther knelt down to pat his back.

“Shrapnel?”

“I-I’ve n-never seen d-dead kids b-before.” Shrapnel cried softly.

With the last bile dripping from his mouth, Angel stood up. “Let them collect their shit.” Angel looked over his shoulder and said, “I have a Colonel to report to.”

“Angel!” Brute stepped up to Angel and grabbed his shoulder, “You can’t confront him. If you do, without proof it was him, you could be court martialed.”

“It won’t matter.” Angel pulled Brute’s hand off his shoulder and started walking away. “I quit.”

Brute, Shrapnel, and Panther stood there in shocked silence as they watched their leader and friend walk away.

“Brother!” Chatterbug’s voice came over the headset.

“Don’t bother, sis. I’ve made up my mind.”

“No, it’s not that.” Her voice was firm:, “I’m coming with you. I quit, too.”

Angel let his lips lift in a slight smile. It was four years since they’d parted. Now, they’d leave together.

Chapter 43: Demon Rising

Notes:

This chapter is a merge of two. The first I simply did not want to write, but needed to cover some details, so it was short and described events without any dialogue. The second chapter grew longer than I intended, and meshed a couple of events into one. So in the end, this chapter encompasses three plot points into one.

I realized by doing this, the rest of the story is going to come pretty fast, as there are only about ten chapters left that are necessary to write. Some of them will be rather short.. as there are only four key points to cover before the climax is over.

We're almost there!

Edit June 6th, 2024: The last scene has been altered to mesh with the later plot, as I had written myself into a corner and needed to rectify it.

Washington D.C. - 2011

 

Two weeks after the events in Libya, Kevin Angelus Collins walked up a long staircase inside Fort McNair in Washington D.C. with Cassie stepping at pace alongside. Both were in full dress uniforms and had blank, unreadable faces. As they stepped to the top, lower officers would stop and stand at attention, but Angel waved them off rather unprofessionally, as he felt sickened to be there. Cassie gripped his hand and squeezed, which offered only a slight relief from his troubled feelings. They walked until they reached a door labeled “General Eckhart” and entered. There they were greeted by a middle aged lady, who sat behind a well designed desk. She asked their names and told them to sit and wait. Fifteen minutes later, the far door opened and General Eckhart, a mid-60’s thin but solid man, head bald of hair and white mustache, nodded for them to come in.

Once seated, Angel laid out the events in Libya, from the orders he received from Tag, the mission and the outcome. The last part caused Angel to lose his voice, so Cassie picked up the story. Once finished, Angel got his voice back and demanded that Tag be brought in for questioning and be put on trial for his actions.

Eckhart sighed and told them that they had already tried to reach Tag and order him to Washington, D.C., but he’d gone AWOL with a dozen other men, nearly 20 million in gold, and a store of weapons, artillery, and munitions. The military had already begun the process of a dishonorable discharge. 

Angel was pissed. He had wanted to see Tag face to face and punch his lights out. Eckhart sympathized, but unless they could track Tag down, who now apparently lived in a country void of extradition, there wasn't much that could be done. Instead, Eckhart commended Angel for his service and was sympathetic to the tragedy. Eckhart then told Angel that there was a discussion and agreement to promote Angel to be the youngest Colonel in the military, for all he had done in the service of his country.

Angel told Eckhart thanks, but no thanks. He was there with his sister to request a General Discharge.  Shocked, Eckhart asked if he was sure, and Cassie spoke up, saying they were more than sure. They no longer had any drive to serve, to even face that situation ever again.

With regret, Eckhart accepted their resignations and informed them that he would see that they would still get the benefits of an Honorable Discharge. Angel shrugged, stood, and said whatever. Cassie gave Eckhart an apologetic smile and followed her brother out.

Once they were down the stairs and outside the building, Cassie asked Angel what he was going to do next.

Angel looked at his sister, his eyes hollow and distant. “Find redemption?” 

Cassie pulled Angel into an embrace. “I’ll help.”

 

Libya Desert - Present Day

Clouds of sandy dust bellowed behind the beige colored Jeep as it barreled down a makeshift path towards Bible’s compound. Charlie held onto the door handle as the Jeep bounced over the rough terrain of the road, guided by Cassie’s angry driving. Upon their landing, the phone provided by Bible rang, and when she answered, he welcomed her to Libya, provided her with directions to the compound, and told her it was an hour’s drive and he expected them there in 55 minutes.

“So much for waiting until dark.” Cassie frowned after she’d hung up, threw the phone onto the floor of the plane, and smashed it under the heel of her boot.

“Of course he would be tracing it.” Brute remarked, “And he could have eyes on the airport. I’m going to have to fly out and land somewhere in the desert. It’s going to put us behind you by an uncomfortable margin.”

“I know.” Cassie frowned, “And if you can’t find a suitable spot, close by… shit!” 

“It’s okay.” Charlie spoke up, and all eyes turned to her. “Once we’re under way, I’ll teleport back here, pick each of you up in turn, and teleport you into the back of the jeep. When we get within range of the compound, we'll drop you off out of sight so you can get to work saving the children.”

“Charlie?” Cassie looked concerned, “Can you do all that, without running out of power?”

“Yes.” Charlie’s voice sounded certain. “I can do it because it has to be done, and I believe in myself.” She looked at the team, her voice losing some of that certainty. “If you all will believe in me?”

“T-teleport?” Shrapnel asked.

“Mmhmm.” Charlie smiled softly, “I’ve done it three times, already, and I’m getting the hang of it. I just don’t want to teleport more than one at a time.

“Have you ever teleported to and from a moving object?” Snapshot asked.

“Well…no.” The certainty was waning.

“So you might be risking our lives on an untested ability?” Panther asked skeptically. She looked at everyone else and asked, “Do we risk it?”

“I will risk it, and I will go first.” Brute stepped up to Charlie, “Because I trust her.”

Charlie nodded, “Thank you, Brute.”

“Very well.” Panther sighed, “It’s a good plan, despite the variables. It’ll ensure that Bible doesn’t see anyone leave the plane. The advantage will be ours.”

“T-teleport?” Shrapnel asked again, but with a slim smile, “I g-guess I’m g-game.”

Charlie stepped up to Shrapnel, took his hands into hers, and leaned in to kiss his cheek, “I will never hurt you. As the Princess of Hell, I promise you.”

Cassie hid a smile, and admired how Charlie was stepping up as team leader. She knew Charlie would not hold back tonight. Angel would be proud.

Shrapnel’s face was red from the attention. He drew in his breath and spoke clearly, “Then I trust you, too.”

Snapshot shrugged, “I’ve had women sweep me off my feet, but never sweep me across great distances. I say, let’s go for it!”

“Oh, Snapshot.” Cassie sighed with a shake of her head, “You are incorrigible.”

“And cute as a button.” Snapshot winked. 

Cassie flipped him off playfully, then turned and opened the door of the plane. “We’re wasting time, and we still have to secure transportation. Come on, Charlie!”

Charlie stepped towards the door, but turned quickly to the others. “Be ready for me. I’ll pop in as soon as we hit the road.”

The four snapped to attention and saluted, “Yes, Sir!”

Charlie gave them a wink in return and followed Cassie out the door.

Now, as the compound came into view some 200 yards ahead, Cassie swung the Jeep they’d acquired to the side of the road just out of sight and slammed on the brakes. From the rear, Brute punched open the door and quickly stepped out, ushering Shrapnel, Panther, and Snapshot out, and then slammed the door. He leaned into the front passenger window. “We’ll set up just beyond the hill next to the west side of the compound. We have to wait till it's dark to scout and plant the explosives, which is still twenty minutes away.”

“How’s Snapshot?” Charlie’s sad eyes looked over Brute to Snapshot, who was throwing up for the third time, now.

“Not so boastful about getting swept off his feet, I assure you.”

“Tell him again, I’m sorry. By the time it was his turn, I was exhausted. I couldn’t keep the transport as smooth.”

“You did good, princess. Now, go. Get our Angel back.” Brute slapped the roof of the jeep, and without another word, Cassie punched the gas pedal, and they peeled off, leaving the team covered in sand and dust. 

“Ugh.” Snapshot moaned and threw up again.

 

***

 

Cassie slowed the Jeep down as they neared the security gate. Her eyes were cold and focused on the soldier who stepped out of the shack and waved them down, pointing to a spot to stop. Charlie scouted the area with her eyes darting everywhere, committing the outside of the compound to memory. As they inched up to the shack, Cassie tugged on her cap to move the visor out of the way and punched the button to lower the driver's side window. The soldier stepped up, hand on his side piece, and looked the occupants over, giving them a snarky attitude.

“You’re late.”  

“Fuck you.” Cassie replied with just as much snark, “Tell me who you know that can make up an hour’s distance in 45 minutes. I’m not taking Bible’s shit. We’re here. Let us in.”

“You’ll be taking something much bigger than his shit, bitch.” The soldier scowled, turned, and signaled someone in the shack to open the gate. 

Cassie didn’t give the soldier the satisfaction of a reply. Before the gate had completely opened, Cassie floored the pedal again and surged forward. The jeep caught the edges of the gates and bent the metal savagely as it raced through the gate.

“HEY!” The soldier shouted in anger, which only nursed a grin from Cassie’s lips. Charlie giggled and turned to watch the two soldiers flip them off, and with a spontaneous thought, she shot her own hand out the window and flipped them off in return, shooting a blast of demon fire with her middle finger that hit the shack, which exploded into hundreds of pieces of thin wood. The soldiers screamed and ran off.

“Wow!” Cassie looked in the rear view mirror, “I didn’t know you had that much punch with your demon fire!”

Charlie turned and leaned back in the seat with a full red blush covering her face, “Uh, I just meant to give them a scare by lighting the roof on fire.”

Cassie gave her a look, and Charlie shrugged. “Whoops?”

Cassie chuckled as she maneuvered the Jeep towards the front entrance, where four other soldiers stood awkwardly, looking at each other with looks of concern. Cassie parked the Jeep, jumped out, and tucked a fanny pack under her commando top. She then came around to Charlie’s side and opened the door. Cassie held up a hand to stop her, “Are you ready for this?”

“I am. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Angel back.”

“Even become theirs?”

Charlie lifted her hand to touch the amulet under her shirt, “I know you won’t let that happen, sis.”

Cassie’s expression was not completely confident. She wiped her eyes, “I won’t!” 

“Hey!” One of the soldiers snapped, “No more delays. Move it!”

“Is everyone here?” Cassie spoke loudly as she took Charlie’s hand and helped her out of the jeep, “Mysognistic fucking pricks?”

“Shut the fuck up and move it!” The same soldier snapped again, pointing to the large double doors that served as the only open entrance into the compound. 

With Charlie’s hand in hers, the pair followed the first soldier through the door, followed by a second behind them, while the other two took up flanking positions outside the door as guards. So far, neither had bothered to search them, which both relieved and worried Cassie. Either Bible was confident they didn’t have anything on them, or expected they did and was prepared. As they continued down the long hallway, they entered a large foyer. The room was sparse, with only two long benches against each wall and a single leg table in the center, with a small vase in the middle of it. Two sets of stairs crawled up the walls on each side of the room to meet at the center balcony. As Cassie’s eyes followed the stairs up, her eyes came upon a large, burly man dressed in a pure white business suit, white tie, and white shin-high leather boots. He chewed on a cigar and gave Cassie a familiar, very horny grin. “Why, Chatterbug, it is so good to see you again.”

“No!” Cassie stopped short, shocked.

Charlie glared up at the man. She knew it was Bible, but she didn’t understand Cassie’s reaction. “Sis?”

“It’s been you this whole time?” Cassie growled in a mix of rage, pain, and real fear. Fear that Charlie picked up on, and her demon side bled out, her blood-red eyes glaring at Bible.

“Indeed. Imagine my surprise when I learned it was Angel and you who’d been the ones fucking up my inventory all these months. It sort of made it easier to accept, if I’m to be honest, knowing my training was being put to such use.”

“Sis?” Charlie tugged on her hand, “How do you know Bible?”

“Charlie.” Cassie’s eyes never left Bibles, a silent promise being made: “This is Colonel Robert Tag, our ex-commanding officer, and the man that tricked Angel into killing all those children.”

Rage boiled up from the core of Charlie’s soul, and she stepped away from Cassie as her full demon form exploded from her. As before, her hair became as dark as night, long and flowing as if underwater; her demon eyes burned like fire; her horns were long and sparking with wisps of fire; and her tail flared behind her. Teeth flashed as her black lips moved, “You! I will tear your fucking throat out, monster!”

“And Angel will die if you do.” Bible’s calm, smooth voice held no fear at the sight of Charlie’s demonic form. “Or should I just kill him now and let you have me?”

“Charlie.” Cassie said quietly, with firm authority, “Stand down.”

The raging demon that danced in fury besides Cassie melted away. Charlie returned to her human form and hugged her arms, still glaring up at Bible.

“Amazing!” Bible clapped. “Such raw power, such demonic force. You will be my right-hand girl, Charlie, bound to me and ready to serve my every whim! The world will bow before us!”

“Go to hell.” Charlie growled. 

“Already there, Darling.” Bible mused, “But you’ll still be my little bitch.”

“Enough!” Cassie snapped, “We’re here. You said you’d let Angel go. Where is he!?”

“Down the hall. Samedi has him in his altar. Charlie will accept the binding spell, and you may take Angel and leave.”

“No tricks.” 

“My dear Chatterbug. With the princess of hell in my power? No one’s going to be able to challenge me. Angel, nor you, will ever be a threat to me. I can afford to let you go.” Bible smiled and added, “Besides, I loved Angel like he was my own son. It would pain me to see him dead.”

Cassie didn’t believe a word, and she was sure Bible knew that as well. Still, he hadn’t had them searched, and she needed to move things along to prevent him from realizing it. “Fine. We’ll go.”

“Eager to see your brother again.” Bible waved his hand to order the soldiers to lead the girls down the hallway under the balcony. "Then, by all means, go. Take your brother and give me the princess of hell in return.”

Cassie and Charlie gave Bible one more deadly stare before taking up positions behind the leading soldier. They heard Bible order the other one back to the front entrance. The walk lasted about five minutes, and Cassie would periodically move towards doors that came about, acting curious about what was behind them, hoping the tracking tag in her boot would show Brute her erratic steps so he could count how many doors they might have to work with if they came down the same hallway. Since the soldier was leading them, he didn’t notice every time, but when he finally did, he switched to walking behind them and would hit Cassie’s back with the butt of his gun if she tried to deviate. 

“You want a snack?” Cassie quipped loudly, looking at Charlie while nudging her chin back at the soldier.

“I am rather famished.” Charlie said her claws grew from her fingertips, and her sharp teeth snapped as she looked over her shoulder and licked her lips.

“She eats humans?” The soldier asked, his voice breaking.

“I’m on a diet.” Charlie answered, letting herself go in the moment. She was extremely angry and held no qualms about scaring the man, “I’d just take the face.” She let him see her eyes drop down towards his crotch, “Or something smaller.”

Despite the severity of the moment, Cassie cupped a hand over her mouth to stifle a real laugh. Charlie had claws, literally and figuratively. The soldier was so nervous about Charlie that he didn’t respond to the insult and only shakenly said, “Just keep moving!”

They obliged him, both smirking at each other, before they were told to turn left down a short hallway that ended at a pair of large wooden double doors, their red coat of paint all but chipped away. 

“He awaits you inside.” The soldier pointed to the door and then took up position against the wall, gun in hand and at the ready.

It was in that very moment that Charlie realized Angel was on the other side of the door, and her heart skipped a beat. “Angel.” She whispered, her emotions flaring. 

Cassie put her hands on the vertical metal hands and pulled the doors open. As they swung open, the women saw only the flicker of a single candle on an altar at the far end of the room. A voice greeted them.

“Do come in, ladies.”

Both stepped through the doors side by side. Cassie had to blink to adjust to the change in light, but Charlie's eyes took everything in as if it were midday in a park. She saw Samedi behind the candle, a cold, broken tooth grin pasted to his grim blackened face. Rygen, in demon form, sat behind him and in the corner, his cold red eyes staring right through Charlie. She returned the stare, letting him know she saw him just as easily. Yet it was her ears that picked up the muffled cries from Angel, and she spun to find him  hanging by cold metal shackles on the far wall, his body beaten and broken, his mouth taped shut so he could not warn them, and she gasped. Without thought, Charlie moved quickly to reach him. 

“Charlie! No!” Cassie cried out, but it was too late. Charlie had taken just three steps and then stopped abruptly, as if pulled back by a chain. She gasped, pain searing through her skin, and she looked down. 

“So predictable.” Samedi remarked. “The bait caught the fish.”

Charlie turned in place, taking in the bloody circle and lines that she found herself standing in the middle of. She looked sharply at Samedie. “You promised!”

“Promise?” Samedi feigned ignorance, then laughed, “Oh, you mean Bible’s promise of a trade?” He stepped forward and walked up to Charlie, just shy of her reach. “I didn’t make such a promise.”

“You son of a bitch!” Cassie cursed him.

“She was.” Samedi laughed, then his voice turned cold.. “But I don’t need any distractions for the next part. Rygen?”

“Yes, my Master?”

Samedi pointed to Cassie, “Kill the bitch.”

“No!” Charlie tried to reach for Cassie, but she couldn’t move from the circle. Cassie took a couple of steps back, frightened.

Rygen rose to his feet and licked his lips. He looked directly at Cassie, “I’m in the mood to play with my food.” He clicked his claws on the stone floor. “Let’s play a human game, shall we?” Rygen lifted one of his large padded claws over his eyes, “I believe you call it ‘Hide & Seek’?”

Charlie gave Cassie a frightened look, lifted her hand, and flicked her fingers. Energy crackled in front of Cassie and converged to form into her bo staff, conjured up by Charlie: “Cassie. Run!”

“Don’t let him bind you, sis!” Cassie grabbed the bo staff, turned, and ran from the room. Charlie glared back at Rygen, who was counting.

“Don’t fucking hurt her, you miserable piece of dog shit!”

Rygen stopped counting and gave Charlie a dark glare. “One day, bitch, I’ll lick that pretty skin off you and drink your fucking blood.” Rygen stalked over, avoiding the circle widely, and gave Charlie a sadistic wink, “You made me lose count. Guess I’ll just have to start the game early.”

“NO!!” Charlie cried out as Rygen burst out of the room. A split moment later, she heard the soldier scream, yet only for a moment, as it was cut off by the gurgling sound of spurting blood, and Rygen’s gleeful voice shouted, “Did you see that, prey? You’re next!”

Charlie spun back towards Samedi, “Please! Please call him back!”

“Oh, don’t fret, princess. In a few moments, you’ll get to play a game of your own.”

Charlie cried and looked over at Angel, who could only look back at her with one open eye, the other swollen shut. His face looked defeated, and she cried more. She had fucked up, letting her emotions guide her to try to reach him. She turned her attention back to Samedi, who stepped up, just out of reach, and took hold of his amulet. He was whispering words in a language she knew as the demon tongue, the one that no demon itself dared utter, for it was the magic that could bind.

“Please.” Charlie’s voice cracked.

Samedi just smiled darkly. He pulled a vial from his pocket and pulled the cork, letting it drop to the floor, and poured deep red blood onto the circle. “I, Pannon Samedi, summon thee, The Daughter of Lucifer and Princess of Hell; Charlotte Morningstar, to be my slave and do all that I command of thee; stripped of thou’s will, thou’s soul is bound to me, and now we share one desire!”

The blood flared and caught fire, which spread around the circle quickly and burst upwards, becoming like a curtain that shrouded Charlie in its vast power. Pain shot through her body, from the tips of her toes to the horns on her head, and she screamed as she felt her free will ripped from her. She felt her demon crawl up from her soul; dark eyes stared from inside as something evil poured like black oil over every part of her soul; her emotions and thoughts turned dark, blank, and cruel. Samedi watched Charlie’s hair turn black; her horns grew and spiraled into a goat-like visage. Her eyes nearly doubled in size, and the red glow of her demon sclera engulfed her pupils. She felt her fangs grow and slide along the skin of her lower mouth. Her ears grew into pointed tips,  her legs twisted so that her knees were backwards, and her cloven feet were enlarged for balance. Her tail flared out, splitting at the base into two separate twisting vines. A force that shouldn't have been inside the princess of hell swallowed her up. The spell did more than bind Charlie; it mutated her, and she felt the very last bit of her true self shoved into a box in the pit of her shriveled soul and shut away. What was left would never be described as anything more than a thing, an it.

As the fire of blood ebbed, Samedi watched the demon creature turn his way, and a hollow voice, as if coming from somewhere else, spoke. “Who are you?”

Samedi grinned a crooked smile. “I am your master, Samedi! You are Charlotte Morningstar, my demon slave.”

“I am not.” It simply said, swaying lightly in the circle, “I am something… more.”

“What are you, then?” Samedi asked.

IT looked down and looked at ITs hands.. “That which was not ready to be born.” IT looked back at Samedi. “Silly thing.” IT then reached for him, but fire burst along the demon’s arm as it tried to break the circle.

“Stop!” Samedi commanded, and IT stopped.

“I see.” IT said, amused, as it pulled ITs arm  back and Samedi watched in awe as it began to heal immediately.. “You bound me. That explains everything.”

“What do you mean ‘you were not ready to be born’?”

IT shrugged, “I know I am early, that is all.” And IT titled ITs head, “ You control me.” IT paused and added, with mockery, “Master. What shall you have me do?”

Samedi swallowed. This was not what he’d expected. It was better! Samedi grinned then; wicked thoughts piled up, and he turned towards Angel. “The first thing you need to do is kill that human! Then I will have you kill Bible, and we will take over his operations and hold ultimate power!”

IT turned and eyed the human in the corner.. Out of sight of Samedi, and under the flow of the demon’s mass of tangled hair, Charlie’s amulet sparked, and IT spoke curiously, “Do I know this human?”

“It doesn’t matter. Kill him.”

“In your haste…Master…you seem to have forgotten something.” IT swayed in the circle. 

Samedi uttered some words, and nodded, “You are free of the circle.”

The demon shrugged and took a step past the circle and then another. “This is better.” IT turned ITs attention back to Angel and reached out, but IT paused as the amulet sparked again and IT shook its head in confusion before IT reached out towards Angel, again, who struggled to avoid the demon’s claws. ITs reach was interrupted by a shaking explosion that rocked the compound.

“What the fuck!?” Samedi shouted.

 

Chapter 44: Betrayal

Notes:

So, yet again, I forgot a detail in the previous chapter. I know I'm rushing, but Im trying to get this done before something stops me. There's real stress in finishing this, and it's only the thrill of seeing a full story develop that keeps me going.

It's one line that was added to the previous chapter, and you will see it in this one, so no need to go back.

It might happen again :)

After greeting the ladies in the foyer, Bible watched as they were led off to meet with Samedi. With a dark, cruel smile, he walked back to his office to watch the events on his private security camera, which he had secretly installed after Samedi had selected the room for his altar a few years earlier. As he stepped through the large black door and into a spacious room with curtains and large expensive paintings, stolen over time, that  surrounded the perimeter, he walked to  his desk and sat down. . Bible reached for a fresh cigar and clipped off the end, lit it and turned towards a large monitor that sat on his desk, the screen already alive with Samedi’s altar room, and sat back to watch and listen to the show. 

He watched the girls enter, and saw Charlie trapped in the circle. He saw her conjure up the bo staff for Cassie, who ran from the room chased by Rygen. He thought about opening up some of the other cameras in the compound to watch the chase, but what happened next took all of his focus. He watched Samedi perform the ritual and with eager excitement, he watched as Charlotte Morningstar was bound. He watched her body mutate and change, and Bible felt a mix of awe, surprise and even a bit of fear race up his spine. 

He leaned forward to listen as Samedi first spoke to the demon, and the  surprise in Samedi’s voice when it was able to leave the circle. Bible marveled over the control Samedi had by commanding the demon to stop. But the next words he heard made his blood run hot with rage. 

“The first thing you need to do is kill that human! Then I will have you kill Bible, and we will take over his operations and hold ultimate power!” Samedi’s wicked voice commanded.

“That son of a bitch!” Bible dropped his cigar in the ashtray and pushed away from the desk. He stalked over to a cabinet against the wall between the door and desk and ripped the doors open, angrily. Inside sat a variety of voodoo items. Items that Bible had collected along with what he saw Samedi bring into the compound. Unbeknownst to Samedi, Bible had used the secret camera to watch him do his magics, and spent valuable time researching and learning the same techniques, himself. He knew Samedi had real power, and did plan on the possibility he may someday think he’d grown strong enough to challenge Bible’s power. 

Bible cursed himself for the mistake he’d made, giving Samedi the assignment of binding the princess, and now he was set to carry out his betrayal ahead of schedule. Selecting the items Bible knew he’d needed, he set about to prepare his own trapping circle. He realized the demon may not be bound to it, but as long as he was able to slow it down, he would use the power he’d learned to bind it to him, instead. As he looked over the items he would need, a sudden blast rocked the compound.

“What the fuck!?” Bible dropped a vial on the floor and cursed. He sprawled the rest of the items on the floor and moved to the desk and hit a button.

“Give me a sit ref, now!”

“Sir! We have intruders on the grounds!”

Bible slammed the desk with his fist hard enough that the wood cracked under the force. “That bitch brought backup!” His mind ran through a list of possibilities and quickly came to a conclusion. “Angel’s team!”

Bible moved around the desk and pushed another button to change the security feed to camera’s around the compound. They were in night vision as darkness had fallen and he scoured the feeds quickly. The fact that he could not find what he was looking for only confirmed his suspicions. 

He hit the com again. “Mobilize everyone! I want the perimeter scoured! It’s Angel’s team and they’re above anyone I have here! And get a team down to the cells! They’ll be after the children, too!”

“Right away, sir!”

Bible snatched a valuable vase he had sitting on his desk and flung it against the wall, shattering it, as he screamed in rage! In his singular focus to capture the princess of hell, herself, he’d opened up his compound to the very enemy he hoped to never face; the team he’d betrayed, and now with Samedi also planning his betrayal, Bible felt cornered. 

And whenever he felt cornered, Bible was at his most dangerous. He knew what he needed to do next. He clicked another button that opened up a com into Samedi’s altar room. He would see for himself what Samedi did next.

“Samedi!”

He watched the voodoo priest turn and go to a com on the wall and answer.

“Bible. What is going on out there?”

“That bitch Cassie brought Angel’s team with her! They’re on the grounds!” He played the part of ignorant next. “Have you bound the princess?”

He watched Samedi pause and Bible’s next decision would go off what Samedi chose to say. “She is. I was about to have her kill Angel.”

“He can wait! Send her out to kill Angel’s friends, now!”

Another short pause, almost long enough to show his betrayal, but Samedi nodded and his voice carried over the speaker, “I will send her immediately!”

“Good. When she’s done, have her bring Angel to me. I want to watch him die right here in my office!” And he’d bind her yet again, and have her kill Angel and Samedi right there and then. He saw Samedi’s body react with the order, and knew that he was already planning to have Bible killed, instead. The two kings were now on opposite sides of the chess board, and Bible shook his head in pity at Samedi, who on the screen was pointing to the door, commanding the demon to do Bible’s bidding, for the voodoo priest had no idea what was in store for him. Clicking the com button off, Bible went back to the cabinet, snatched up the materials he would need and began the job of inscribing the trapping circle. They would all pay for their betrayal, he thought, with their guts spilled at his feet by the demon Charlotte Morningstar.

Notes:

This was not what I planned to write, tonight. I hope to post another chapter or two this weekend, with what I did have in mind. However, I remembered that I forgot (yeah, it happens) that I needed to set up Bible's spot for later.

Let's count how many chapters end in an explosion, too :) Lot's of different POV's to set up ahead of the last bit of action!

Chapter 45: Angels are Coming!

The rage that filled the young woman burned with such intensity that she knew if Bible ever tried to lay a hand on her, she’d bite his fingers clean off. With her back against the metal bars and seated on one of the cold metal benches, she rocked the little girl nestled in her arms, trying to sooth her cries of pain while also trying to ignore the black and blue bruise on her cheek. When the soldier came and collected the little twelve year old brunette for Bible’s vile needs, she’d attempted to block the soldier and demand he take her, instead. She’d been gifted the butt of his rifle across her face for her actions, and she screamed in terror as she fell and watched the little girl be dragged off.

Still, despite the fuzzy vision that came from the crack against her cheek, she had to try to calm down the other two dozen children that were gathered in the two cage cells in the basement of the compound. When she had been kidnapped and brought here, she’d seen the fear in the eyes of the kids and her instincts to protect took control, quickly, establishing herself as the ‘den-mother’ and worked to keep them as calm and safe as possible.

The first time Bible came down to check on the children himself, he immediately saw what she was doing and commended her. She had responded by spitting in his face, but he’d merely laughed. He told her as long as he kept the children under control and behaved, he would see that they received regular food and water and would be treated well. She had almost fallen for his fake kindness until he’d had the guard take out the little girl, and now all she could think of was how she would kill the bastard if she had a chance.

Now, all she could do was rock the little girl and try to distract her from the pain of Bible’s assault. Her heart ached so badly, that it took all of her control not to cry and scare all the others, who sat huddled in masses in the two cells. She would not let them see her weak. Her brother had taught her street and survival skills, and one of those lessons was to never show your enemy weakness. 

As she rocked the child, a sudden explosion rocked the compound and her head whipped up to the ceiling as dust and debris rained down around the cages. The kids screamed and cried as the dust came down on them.

“What the fuck?” She whispered.

“Maybe it’s the demon?” the little girl whispered.

“What?” 

The little girl turned in her arms and looked up with swollen red eyes, “The mean man told me if I didn’t behave and do as he told me, he’d have his demon kill me. He said he was having her brought to him soon, and he was going to use her to rule the world.”

“How was he going to get a demon here?” She didn’t believe in demons, and figured the little girl misheard, but she wasn’t going to correct her.

“He said he was using a man as bait for his sister to bring the demon.”

The young woman thought for a moment, “A trade?” and she looked up at the ceiling, “And maybe they brought help!” Carefully, she helped the girl sit up, who winced and she apologized about the pain the girl was feeling from Bible’s violation. She helped her settle and stood.

“Listen, everyone! I want you all to stand and be ready just in case.”

“What’s going on?” One boy asked.

“I can’t be sure, and I don’t want any of you to get your hopes up, but we may have someone outside coming to rescue us!”

The kids collectively stood, with hope on their faces, “The army?” one girl asked.

The young woman turned and looked down the hall as a group of soldiers came running their way, shouting orders to surround the cells and be ready. That told her what she needed to know. “Not the army.” She said and couldn’t help but feel hope rise in her as she looked at the kids and grinned. “Angels!”

 

Notes:

Shortest Chapter yet and yet another explosion and WTF :)

Chapter 46: Cassie vs Rygen

Cassie ran. Ran with all the speed her legs and fear would carry her. She’d seen Rygen’s handiwork and when she saw him for the first time, her soul shriveled. Charlie was trapped, Angel was hurt, and she was on her own. No amount of training in the military or all the power she’d accumulated from her Wiccan friends and the mystical frequencies prepared her for being hunted by a demonic hell-hound. But, what had prepared her, was training with Charlie, the princess of hell, herself. Fear could be managed, used, and as she ran she let herself be scared. She knew Rygen would smell it, and believed her to be a helpless, weak human woman. 

As she turned a corner, she snatched a vial from the fanny pack under her camos and popped the top off with her thumb and whispered a spell as the powder fell on the floor in a line behind her. She heard Rygen’s claws clicking quickly on the concrete floor as he neared and she stopped and spun around. She watched him turn the corner and the powder erupted in his face, and he screamed.

“What the hell!” He stopped and shook his head

This allowed Cassie time to pop another vial, sprinkle powder over her head into her hair and she whispered another spell, and moved into one of the doorways she’d investigated on their march to the altar room. She held her breath and did her best to slow her labored breathing as Rygen wiped his eyes and stalked forward. She tensed as he reached the door and walked past it, sniffing the air and growling.

“Where did you go!? How come I can’t sense you, now? Come out, fucking bitch!”

It worked. The two spells worked together to temporarily blind him and mask her scent and presence from him, Thank the Goddeses! She waited until he turned a corner, still shouting her name, and as he moved down the hall, she stepped further into the room and opened her fanny pack. She had to be quick. 

It took only a couple of minutes to finish her work, and then she stepped out of the room, took a deep breath to steal her nerves and shouted at the top of her lungs. 

“RYGEN!”

The sound of his clicking claws told her he’d not gone too far and was coming for her. With deep breaths, Cassie lifted the bo staff, took up position, and watched as Rygen turned the corner.

“BITCH! How!?” He roared and came at her. 

Cassie waited until the last moment then twisted ninety-degrees and jabbed the staff out, which tripped Rygen and he sprawled across the floor, dust flaring up which created a mist that Cassie liked. 

“Fucking cunt!” Rygen pushed himself to his feet and turned sharply, “I am going to rip your arms off and watch you scream!”

“Try it, bitch!” Cassie spun her staff and took up a different defensive position. 

Rygen roared and jumped, opting to come at her from a high position of attack. Cassie waited until he was on the downward motion and dropped and rolled forward. As Rygen landed where Cassie had been, she plunged the end of the bo into the spot where his asshole should be. It was.

“OOOOWWWWW!” Real pain coated Rygen’s voice and he spun and swiped, his claw smashing against the bo staff and ripping it out of Cassie’s hands. She watched in horror as it smashed against the wall and fell. She turned and swallowed as Rygen turned, eyes glowing red with rage and he dropped his rear end on the ground and scooted. Out of her control, Cassie failed to hold in a frightened laugh.

“What the hell are you laughing about, bitch?” Rygen shook with pain and anger, as he scooted more and black blood trailed behind him “You’re about to die!”

Deftly reaching inside her fanny pack, Cassie felt for vial with the sandpaper texture, and gripped it as she watched Rygen stand and shake himself of the pain. 

“Dammit, it’s gonna hurt to shit for weeks!” He glared at her as he crouched into a pouncing position. “I’m through playing games!” 

Rygen pounced, and Cassie was ready. She pulled her hand from the pack and flipped the vial at Rygen’s face, shouting a spell and purple powder exploded against his left eye. The contact was like a bomb and Rygen fell screaming as he was blinded by sandpaper powder. Cassie took the chance and ran for her staff, but Rygen blindly swung hard at the sound of her footsteps. Cassie screamed as his claws ripped into her leg and she fell against the wall and on top of her staff.

“GOD! DAMN! FUCKING! BITCH! CUNT!” Rygen’s roar shook the very foundation of the hallway, as he stood up on his hind legs, his head brushing against the ten foot tall ceiling and he wiped his eyes clean and turned to look down at Cassie, who fumbled for the staff,  and despite the pain, smiled with vicious intent. Before he could drop down upon her, an explosion rocked the compound and Rygen looked up, “What the fuck?”

Notes:

This is part one of two. I wrote the whole thing but I needed the explosion and WTF moment one more time. :)

Things are coming together, finally!

Chapter 47: Precision Operation

Brute slapped the top of the jeep and watched Cassie and Charlie peel off back onto the makeshift dirt road leading to the compound. He turned to the others, “Let’s get a move on!”

The rest grabbed their gear, except Snapshot who threw up, yet again. Panther shook her head, “Shake it off, wusspuss!”

With a nod, Snapshot hefted his duffle and fell in beside Brute, in front of Panther and Shrapnel who took position on their six. “Sorry. That was one hell of a ride.”

“It was.” Brute agreed, as the four ran as fast as they could while keeping out of sight. In moments, they came to rest against a dune that helped to conceal their presence and they could watch as Cassie pulled the jeep up to the compound’s entrance. 

“ETA for sunset?” Brute pulled a pair of binoculars out to scout the entrance and sentries in the vicinity.

“Two minutes.” Panther answered. “But we’re going to have to change our plan. I won’t have time to scout.”

“Yeah.” Brute watched the guard usher the jeep inside. “Give me a rough estimate on the structure.”

“The compound looks to be about one hundred and twenty yards long, sixty yards wide. Two stories, ten-twelve feet each level,  and very likely a basement, even possibly a sub-basement. Educated guess; kids are in one of those on the far end of the.”

The rest of Panther’s report was cut off by a sudden explosion of the guard shack and the two soldiers running off in a panic along the outside wall.

“What just happened?” Shrapnel peered around Brute to see the debris raining down around the remains of the shack.

“Charlie.” Snapshot said as he lifted his rifle, took aim and quickly dispatched the two soldiers, before they could return to the inside of the compound. He slung his weapon on his shoulder, “I say we use this.”

“Panther, take Shrapnel and move along the outer wall until you reach the backside. Set explosives to distract as soon as you can. Be dirty!”

.“Smash and grab?” Panther asked.

“Smash and grab!” Brute confirmed, “Snapshot, see the sentry on the tower to the right? Take him out then watch our backs.”

“Roger. Eagle Eye Position.”

“We only have fifteen, twenty minutes at most before the trade’s supposed to take place. We have half that to clear the outer perimeter and find the kids. Once the distraction goes off, they’ll send reinforcements. Be ready for a pinned down firefight.”

“Here!” Shrapnel pulled out a clump of F-Bombs, “Just in case.” and dumped them into Brute’s satchel.

“Sun’s setting. Let’s move!” Brute moved in a crouched position and led the team until they were on the outside wall next to the entrance. Brute peered in to watch Cassie lead Charlie in the front entrance, with two soldiers leading them, and the two others taking up point on either side of the doors. Brute guessed that they knew Charlie had been the reason for the shack’s demolition, and no one seemed eager to come out and check the rubble. Good. “Panther. Eyes on the tower. Shrapnel. Distract.”

Panther moved to where she could see the sentry, who was watching the front entrance with interest at the arrival of the women, and she nodded for Shrapnel to go. With deft movements, Shrapnel raced along the outer wall, stepped past the two dead sentries and placed an F-bomb below the tower. Setting a timer for fifteen seconds, he armed it and ran back hastily but quietly towards the group.  He stopped before Brute and smirked as the bomb burst behind him and caught the sentrie’s attention. He came over to see what happened and never felt the bullet from Snapshot’s rifle pierce through his ear and fell quietly out of the tower to the ground outside.

“Nest is clear.” Snapshot confirmed. 

“Go!” Brute wasted no time and turned around the corner and into the front entrance, and ran at full pace towards the front doors. His sudden appearance caught the two soldiers by surprise, which allowed Snapshot the time he needed to take each out, then he turned and ran to the bottom of the tower and climbed the ladder upwards. As he did, Brute put his shoulder forward and smashed through the front door and dropped, pistol drawn, and saw the soldier Bible had ordered back to the entrance, stopped in shocked surprise. Before he could shout or lift his weapon, Brute pulled the trigger and dropped him. Brute then quietly moved down the long hallway until he came to the foyer and stopped. He looked left and right then up. Instinctively, he knew Bible was up there. He debated on a confrontation, but corrected himself. No deviation from the mission. Instead, he began to move down the hall while he took out a tracking device and pushed a button. On the black and green screen, a gps blip indicating Cassie’s movements appeared. Now, he knew how far ahead and which way they were going. He followed far enough behind to not be heard, and matched Cassie’s steps. Unlike her, he had time to open the doors to the rooms, counting as he went, and discovered most were rooms full of weapons and gold. Bible had amassed enough wealth to run a country, and Brute felt personal satisfaction at the opportunity to blow the entire place to hell. 

For five minutes, Brute followed the GPS tracker and watched it take a ninety-degree turn a little further down the way. With stealth, he continued to move until he reached the junction. He knew that the way they went led to Angel, and he trusted Chatterbug to work things out. Instead, Brute took the opposite corridor and stepped quickly and quietly until he reached the end and a large metal door. Brute grabbed the handle and pulled, but the door did not bulge. Locked. 

Brute fished into his satchel and grabbed an F-bomb and set the timer for fifteen seconds, jammed it into the handle of the door and ran back twenty yards, dropped to one knee and cupped his ears. 

The blast wasn’t loud, more like a large pop, but it did the job and the metal door began to swing outwards, creaking as it moved. Brute returned to the door and peered inside, and what he’d hoped to find was there; stairs leading down. Drawing his pistol, Brute began to make his way down the concrete steps. He clicked the radio button again, “Found the basement. Going for the kids. Get the distraction ready!”

“We’re close.” Panther’s voice came back, “Bible must be too focused on getting Charlie. Everything out here is as if it’s a fucking holiday. Lazy pricks barely paying attention.”

“Good.” Brute said as he lightly moved down the steps, “Luck may finally be with us. Radio silence until the next phase.”

“Silent running.” Panther’s voice dropped and disappeared. 

Brute reached the bottom of the staircase, and was about to move down the barely lit hallway, only illuminated by individual light bulbs that hung from the ceiling every ten yards when he heard the cries of a man being ripped apart and Rygen’s voice echoed down through the compound, “Did you see that, prey? You’re next!”

“Chatterbug!” Brute turned around to go back up the stairs, but caught himself. He had to trust in her, that she could take care of herself. With a curse, and an ache in his heart, Brute turned back and started down the hallway. 

***

Panther led Shrapnel along the outer wall to the end and peered around it. “No sentries outside. We should be good to get to the northside and set the distractions.”

“Good.” Shrapnel said. “I’ll need about three minutes. I want to set two spots, split up the response.” Panther didn’t respond and started down the wall with Shrapnel behind. They moved fast, and were in position in mere minutes. Panther watched for sentries as Shrapnel set the first bomb and then motioned her to move down about thirty yards, where he set the second. They then moved off another thirty yards, where Shrapnel set two small F-Bombs against a section of the wall that had major cracks in them. “We’ll go in, here.” 

He set the two bombs and moved Panther back from the wall and behind a dune. He nodded to Panther all was set. “Distractions set.” Panther radioed Snapshot. “Ready?”

“I got eyes on five.” Snapshot’s voice came back. “Countdown.”

“Shrapnel?” 

With a smirk, Shrapnel flipped the safety up on the trigger and gleefully whispered, “Fire in the hole!” then clicked the button.

The two bombs went off and the explosions were the loudest and earth shaking of any Shrapnel had set off in the past. Panther whistled in awe as the stone wall disintegrated in two locations. They waited ten seconds as shouts began to rise from inside the compound, including a very loud and angry “What the fuck?” and then Shrapnel detonated the smaller F-bombs which took out the wall near them. 

Quickly, the pair ran through the hole and turned to see fourteen soldiers race towards the two separate holes, and the further seven started to drop from Snapshot’s crack shots. Panther and Shrapnel dropped to their stomachs and fired, managing to snag the other seven who were trapped in the dust and confusion.

“Snapshot. Report.” Panther said into her com.

“I got five on ice.” His voice held humor, “Coast is clear for you, Panther..” 

“Roger. Can you get to the west wall and keep your eyes on Shrapnel?” 

“Affirmative. On my way.” Snapshot said and went silent.

Panther tapped the wall, “Shrapnel, set up an escape route here. I’ll rendezvous with Brute inside. We’ll get the kids and lead them to this corner. We may have to find a way up, but have the wall ready to blow when we do.”

“On it!” Shrapnel moved to the wall of the compound and got to work. Panther took off down the wall until she came to a door that was swung wide open.  She peered inside to see a large room where the soldiers apparently took their R&R. It was empty as they’d all come out at the explosion. She moved in and found the door on the opposite side and peered through the round window. As it looked clear, she slowly opened it and stepped through. With a quick evaluation, Panther scouted the next room and found a large metal door. She tried the handle, which opened with a sharp pull and she peered inside and down. Stairs! Not only that, but she could catch the distinct sound of children shouting. Panther let out a long breath. Her guess had been right. She began to move down the stairs when she heard the shouts of men. Bible had sent reinforcements to guard the children.

“Shit.” Panther cursed, and stowed her gun. No way she was going to fire her weapon in a room full of children. Not after last time. Gliding down the stairs on light feet, Panther moved to hide along an alcove and peered down the hallway. She saw lights through another large door, and the cries of children. 

“Brute.” She whispered. “I found them. Southwest corner of the compound.”

“I know.” Brute’s voice came back, “I’m fifty yards from the door, hidden. Twelve soldiers came running by a moment ago. Barely had a chance to hide. They’re going to guard the kids after Shrapnel’s distraction. Bible knows we’re here.”

“If not from the explosion, the mass of dead soldiers outside would give us away. Shrapnel’s setting up our escape. But, Brute. What do we do? We can’t go into a firefight. The kids!”

“I’m thinking!” Brute’s voice betrayed his emotions. Panther, for the first time on the mission, felt fear and she wiped her eyes. They were not going to repeat the events of last time.

Notes:

As I said once before; when it comes to this kind of writing, take it with a spoon full of salt. This kind of choreography is not my area.

Chapter 48: This Isn't Me!

Samedi watched with dark anticipation as the IT demon moved slowly, somewhat awkwardly towards Angel, IT’s clawed hooves clicking along the concrete floor when the room was rocked by an outside explosion.

“What the fuck?” Samedi shouted.

The IT demon paused to look at him before turning back to Angel, who stared with lost hope at the IT demon, “Charlie?”

“SAMEDI!” Bible’s raged voice came through the com system.

“Hold!” Samedi shouted and the IT demon did as commanded as IT cast a questioning eye his way. Samedi moved to the wall and pushed the button, “Bible. What is going on out there?”

“That bitch Cassie brought Angel’s team with her! They’re on the grounds! Have you bound the princess?”

Samedi paused and thought about lying, so he may take the IT demon up to the office and kill Bible, immediately. Best not be too hasty, though. “She is. I was about to have her kill Angel.”

Bible’s voice sounded angry, and while not at all panicked, there was an air of concern in his voice, “He can wait! Send her out to kill Angel’s friends, now!”

Samedi held his reply for a moment and thought, “This will make a good test.” and punched the com button, speaking aloud, “I will send her immediately.” 

“Good. When she’s done, have her bring Angel to me. I want to watch him die right here in my office!” Bible commanded.

Samedi grinned, his shoulders silently laughing. Bible had set up the trap for him. He heard the com go dead and turned back to the IT demon.

“Change of plans, my dear. Go find Angel’s team and wipe them out!”

Without a word, the IT demon twisted around and moved quickly out of the room, on the hunt.

“Well, my dear Angel.” Samedi smiled, “Enjoy the reprieve. Soon, your bitch will have the heads of your friends, and then you, your sister and Bible will all suffer at the hands of my demon princess.”

“Did…” Angel coughed and swallowed. “Did she look like a princess to you? You let something out, Samedi…something even you won't be able to control.”

“But I do, Angel. I do.” Samedi just laughed and turned his back on Angel to work on some spells as he waited for heads to roll through his door.

***

Moments later, on the roof of the compound, one of the large A/C units exploded, sending debris scattering all over the roof and the main unit was flung high into the air and soared over the side. A couple of male screams were cut off mid sound as the unit crushed those sentries under its weight. From the smoldering hole, the IT Demon’s viscous form seeped out and it took purchase on the roof’s surface with long, sharp pointed hooves, and bent over hunched and scraped along with IT’s blade like claws. IT sniffed  the air, sucking in all the various aromas and smells of the compound and those running around in and outside of it. With a grin spread along IT’s wide maw, IT flicked a long snake-like forked tongue out, tasting those aromas as if they were hors d'oeuvre on a serving tray. IT tracked the ones known as Angel’s team and zeroed in on one at the back end of the compound, just as Samedi had commanded.

“This…will…be…fun.” IT thought as IT turned to hunt IT’s prey.

“No!”

IT stopped and titled IT’s head. “What?”

“Please don’t hurt my friends.” Charlie’s voice floated behind the demon’s pulsing red eyes.

“Stay quiet, child. It’s my turn to play, now.”

“Who are you?” Charlie asked.

“I am you, sweet child.”

“No, you’re not. This isn’t…” the IT demon’s hand lifted up to IT’s face and lowered down IT’s front, “...me.” 

“Oh, but you are.” IT said, “You are so much more than the product of an angel and human, my child. You are the key.”

“A human?” Charlie gasped and thought, “My mother’s a human?” 

“She is.” IT said in acknowledgment.

“The key to what?” Charlie asked. She had to keep the demon talking to her, she had to know what it was that lived inside her. She had to know how to control it, and if necessary some day, how to destroy IT.

“It is not the time for you to know, sweet child. Just know that I was a gift bestowed upon you at the time of your birth, from one who knows the true you, your true potential.”

“Tell me, please!”

“No.” IT said. “I can not, and you have delayed me long enough. My master demands the death of your friends, and we will carry out his wishes.”

“Please don’t. Those people are my family.”

“Those people are your family?” IT laughed. “You can’t even remember who your real family is, and you choose these.. Humans..?”

“They’re angels!” Charlie cried out as the IT demon began to move again, “And I love them! Please.. We’re better than this!”

“You may be.” IT laughed, “But I am evil, born from the root of it, and I will devour all of your friends tonight.”

“No!” Charlie felt herself being pushed back and all she could do was watch the IT demon move swiftly across the roof until it reached the far end and peered over the edge. 

Below, IT saw Shrapnel working on setting up explosives on the wall, placing wires in clay and attaching a triggering mechanism.

“Ah, the fraidy cat.” IT mused. 

“I won’t let you hurt him!” Charlie pushed herself back into the forefront of the demon’s mind. As she pushed with all her mental might, the amulet around their neck sparked.

IT cringed as if hit by a headache. “What are you doing, child?”

“Fighting you!”

“Valiant. Truly you are the child of the two, but it will be for naught. These binding spells hold us tight, and we will obey our masters!”

IT shook IT’s body and large bat like demon wings spread out from behind, and IT lifted up off the roof silently and dropped like a drop of rain towards Shrapnel.

Shrapnel saw the shadow envelop him and he looked up in shock, surprise and exploding fear as the IT demon came down upon him. They crashed to the ground, and IT set IT’s massive palms over Shrapnels arms and dug IT’s talon-like hooves into one of his legs. IT bathed in Shrapnel’s screams and decided to have a bit of fun and receded IT’s features back, letting Charlie’s visage take over. 

Shrapnel watched the demonic, twisted face change and Charlie’s own returned and she glared hungrily down upon Shrapnel. In her voice, IT spoke cruelly, “I shall feast upon your heart, human, and bring your head to my master as a trophy.”

“Ch-ch-charlie?” Shrapnel whispered. “You pr-promised!”

“I did!” Charlie screamed inside their head. “I told them I’d never hurt them!” 

“Then you lied!”

The amulet sparked again, this time green energy erupted outwards and coated the demon for a second and IT screamed and fell back in Charlie’s mind. She felt herself regain a semblance of control. She had to act fast. She mentally licked her lips and opened a path for the IT demon to crawl back up, but the amulet gave her a sense of strength she needed. As IT came back, IT lifted ITs maw and came down to devour Shrapnel and he screamed in terror as his world went black.

Notes:

The seeds to a future story were planted here. Did you find them?

Chapter 49: Stay Gone!

The explosion grabbed Rygen’s attention away from his attack on Cassie and he looked up towards the ceiling. Something was going on, outside, and he would ask Samedi about it after he took care of his prey.  He shook his head and returned his attention to Cassie. She had only a moment of reprieve from the sudden distraction, but that reprieve ended here and now.

Cassie thanked Shrapnel in her thoughts for the timing of the explosion and the momentary distraction it afforded her. When Rygen came down, Cassie had the time to roll away, with staff in hand, and get to her feet. Unfortunately, Rygen had been catching on to her tactics and twisted, putting all his strength into a shoulder tackle and it sent Cassie against the opposite wall hard enough that she heard her collar bone shatter and she screamed as the pain blinded her. When she cleared her vision, she saw Rygen’s massive hellhound face inches from hers, both red eyes glowing clear.  “It’s been fun, but it’s time to die!”

Fueled by pain and fear, something sparked inside Cassie. The years of exploring magic, using powder, crystals, and tuning into the mystic frequencies had been building  within her and it suddenly blossomed in a way she never felt before. Cassie’s eyes began to glow a vibrant green glow and a spell she didn’t know she knew came from slightly parted lips. “Canem esse caecum daemonium!”

Rygen paused, as if frozen, and Cassie watched in fascination as his eyeballs began to swell and grow. Rygen panicked, backing up and reached a claw up to touch the sudden flare of pain. The swelling grew and in a sudden explosion, both eyes burst in black blood and sinewry strands. Rygen fell as his screams echoed down the hallway. Cassie twisted herself to get to her feet and cried out as she put pressure on her bloody mass of a left leg and struggled to hold her shoulder in place as she limped towards the room where her trap lay waiting. She turned to watch Rygen twist and writhe in agonizing pain, and Cassie felt that maybe she had a chance.

Ignoring the pain as much as she could, Cassie reached the door of the room, and turned again to see Rygen slowly climbing to his feet, the pained whimpers and whines of an injured dog seeping from his throat. For the slightest of moments, Cassie felt sympathy for his plight, but it didn’t last as Rygen turned his bloody face her way, his nostrils flared as he sniffed the air and zeroed in on her. 

“Shit!” Cassie thought. “The spell wore off.”

Rygen took three slow steps, his growls grew more intense, and it seemed he was no longer in the mood to speak. Cassie backed into the room and tapped her staff on the floor, adding to the lure. As she moved deeper into the room, she watched Rygen come into view of the door and stop. He sniffed again, and turned his head towards Cassie, as if he could see her. His lips lifted in a demonic growl and he took two steps into the room and stopped just short of the circle. Cassie watched him lower his nose and sniff at the ground. He looked up in her direction, his lips raised in a gruesom grin.

“Nice try. I may not be able to see, bitch, but I smell the blood.”

Rygen turned and stepped slowly, menacingly around the circle Cassie had hastily drawn on the sandy floor and she gasped aloud, as it sunk in that her trap had failed and now she was tapped at the back of the room with no escape. With a grunt, Cassie took six steps backwards until her back was against the wall. She took loud, deep breaths as she tried to get her panicked fear under control.

“No prey has ever hurt me the way you have.” Rygen’s cold voice spoke. “I’m going to take extra pleasure in ripping you to shreds.”

“You’re a pathetic, worthless, imp, Rygen.” Cassie hissed and squared her shoulders. “I won’t scream one time. Pup!”

“No. You won’t!” Rygen agreed. “Because the first thing I’m going to do is tear out your fucking throat!” Rygen again stood and reared upwards, and spread his claws wide, clicking them in anticipation. 

Cassie tapped into her newfound powers, and felt something surge up from her soul into her fingers. She watched as green energy surged up her bo staff to the tip and formed into a solid silver spear tip around the base at the end, vine-like metal strands streamed downwards about two feet and she felt the end in her hands pulse and change to provide a hilt for her hands to press against. When Rygen came down, Cassie thrust the spear upwards and plunged it into Rygen’s throat. The tip ripped through the fleshy mass of his gullet and burst out the back of his neck and Rygen’s roar turned into a gargling mass of wetness. With a step forward to imbalance Rygen on his hind legs, Cassie twisted her body and pulled the spear around, which carried the struggling Rygen with it and dropped him into the trapping circle. As his body hit the floor, the circle erupted up in a fiery mass of crackling energy and he screamed in horror and pain. He flailed with fear but he could not break the circle.

“No!” Rygen's mouth gurgled as black blood poured out, his voice mangled, “NO! You can’t.”

Cassie limped to the circle and gathered up a glob of bloody phlegm and spit harshly on the flailing demon, “Oh, I fucking can!”

With a scream of rage, Rygen jammed his claw out of the circle, intent on slicing Cassie in half, but the flames flared along his claw, rending flesh from bone. Before he could pull it back, Cassie slammed her spear down and trapped his boney claw into the concrete floor. She let his screams sooth her pain and leaned forward so she could feel her presence mere inches from him and she whispered  “Return to hell, Canis Infernus Rygen, I release you!”

“NO! No! nooo!” Rygen’s panicked voice cried out, as the fiery energy turned black and engulfed him.

Cassie watched his body burn harshly before his form seeped down into the concrete, liquified and dispersing before finally nothing was left but the bone claw still held to the concrete by her spear. Cassie ripped the spear up, looked at the claw for a moment, then kicked it against the wall. With a pained limp, Cassie reached the door and looked back one time, her green eyes glowing in the darkness of the room, “This time.” Cassie commanded, “Stay gone!”

 

Chapter 50: The Rescue

Snapshot ran along the wall as panic snaked up his spine. He had been watching Shrapnel place the charges, while keeping a look out around him to make sure no other sentries appeared when he saw a large shadow drop from the roof. The thing knocked Shrapnel to the ground and Snapshot could have sworn that it looked like Charlie, only deformed. Fear swallowed him up as he realized he’d never make it in time as the demon lifted IT’s maw and came down over Shrapnel, IT’s wings swarmed around them and Shrapnel’s screams were cut off. 

“No!” Snapshot pulled his side-arm and fired all the rounds one after the other, but the demon had sensed him and flung itself into the air and back over the top of the roof, disappearing from sight.

Without pause, Snapshot finished closing the distance and slid on his knees the last few feet to grab Shrapnel and hope above all that somehow, he’d survived. He looked down, afraid of what he’d find, and gasped. Stuck in the side of Shrapnel’s neck was one of Charlie’s tranquilizer darts. Snapshot lowered his head, pressing his ear to Shrapnel’s chest and let out a cry of joy. He was alive. 

“Good job, Charlie!” Snapshot sniffed as he sat back on his haunches and pulled Shrapnel into his lap. He gave him a once over and noticed his one leg was ripped and blood was seeping out. Quickly, Snapshot went to work to wrap the wound and then looked around, saw a jeep and picked Shrapnel up. He moved him to the back of the jeep and set him inside, closed the door and went back to the side wall. There, he found the detonator device laying on the ground and picked it up.

“Don't worry, buddy. We’ll finish this!” Snapshot clicked his com, and chose not to burden them with the fact that Charlie had been bound or that Shrapnel was injured, “Brute. Panther. We’re ready.”

***

“What do we do?” Panther asked again, as she listened to the cries of the children on the other side of the door.

“I don’t know.” Real fear coated Brute’s voice. “Even if we can pull some of them out, they won’t all come. The kids are at risk.”

“Brute. Panther. We’re ready.” Snapshot’s voice came over Brute’s com. 

“Ready with the exit hole?” Brute’s eyes lit up.

“Yup! Just say the word!” Snapshot’s voice quavered. 

“Everything okay out there?” Panther caught it.

“Hunky-dory! Come on! Let’s finish this!”

Brute scratched at his chin, “Panther. I’m going to knock on the door, get at least a couple to come my way. You do the same at the same time. Snapshot, two seconds after we do; blow the wall!”

“I don’t like it.” 

“Give me a better idea, Lisa!” Brute growled, his fear and anger mixed to a point he lost control with Panther.

She sighed, “I don’t have one.”

“Then let’s do this!”  Brute stepped out of his hiding spot and stomped up to the door, not at all worried about the sounds he was making. 

Panther moved to her door and waited. In a moment, she heard loud thumping from the far end of the room and the men react. She copied Brute and thumped hard on her door, and then stepped back and to the side, drawing her firearm. As she did, the compound was rocked again by Shrapnel’s bomb. 

The mix of distractions startled the men, and one ordered the rest to go to the two doors, while he stayed back, weapon drawn on the elder girl, warning the others to be quiet or she’d be the firs to die. The girl flipped him the finger.

In the next couple of moments, events happened faster than anyone could really comprehend. As the men reached the one door, Brute burst through and grabbed the first, and ripped him, screaming, through the door and broke his neck. Two others fired through the door, but jumped as the far end door on the other side burst open and another one entered the room, hitting the first man with a fist to his nose, which shattered on impact, and she grabbed another and dragged him from the room. His screams did not last. The rest split up and went through the two doors, but in the end, were no match for what was outside the doors and the last man, now shaken, turned and aimed his weapon at the large man that came through the door.

“Halt!” The sentry shouted. “Don’t fucking move. Where are my men?”

“Taking dirt naps.” Brute smirked.

“If they’re lucky.” Panther’s voice startled the soldier, who turned to aim his gun on her. 

“I said don’t move!” The sentry went for his walkie-talkie to call Brute for orders when he felt a hand grab his collar from behind and yank him hard against the metal bars. His head smacked hard enough to knock him silly and he groaned before his head was brought back against the steel post yet again, and this time it cracked his skull and he fell.

“Wow.” Brute watched as the girl in the cell had watched the soldier back up to the point he’d been using the cage as a prop to hold himself steady and she’d taken advantage of it, and knocked him right out.

“Fucking pig!” The girl spat on the fallen sentry, then looked at the two, “Well, don’t just stand there gawking. Get us the fuck out of here!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Brute came up to the cage door and looked around, “Who had the key?”

“One of them you took out through your door.” The girl pointed behind him.

“It’ll take too long to search.” Brute sized up the door, slipped his hands around the bars and yanked with every muscle in his body. The girl whistled with admiration as the hinges broke and the door came off in his hands. Brute threw it to the side. “Come on, get the kids and let’s go.”

The girl turned and waved the kids forward, “Come on, it’s safe!” As she hustled them out, Brute went to the other cage and broke that door, as well. 

Panther stepped over to help the kids get out and had them all line up near the door leading upstairs to the escape route. She looked at the girl, “Follow me, and lead them out. Brute will follow behind.”

The girl turned to Brute, eyeing his side piece. “Give me your gun.”

“What?” Brute stopped short.

“Your piece. Your Sig P320. If I’m going to lead, I’m not going out defenseless.”

Brute pulled the gun from his holster, “You know your guns.”

“My brother. Taught me how to take care of myself.” She took the gun and released the clip, inspected the ammo and slapped the clip back in firmly, “And not let pricks like this fuck with me!”

Brute looked down at the fallen man that she’d slammed against the cell’s bars, “You certainly can.” He looked up with a grin, “What’s your name, kid?”

Having turned to get to the front of the group, she leaned down and kissed the little girl she’d helped on the forehead and whispered that everything was going to be okay, now. She looked up to Brute, her look very serious at what they now had to do, and said, “Molly.”

Brute picked up the soldier's rifle, checked it and grinned at her, “Well, then, Molly. Panther. Lead us out!” 

Chapter 51: Whole Again

Samedi was mixing something in a stone bowl when he felt the presence of the IT demon and turned as IT entered through the door, swaying as if lost in the euphoria of a kill, the face having returned to Charlie’s and blood covered her cheeks, lips and chin. She licked her lips, and mmmmed as she stepped forward deeper into the room.

“You’ve returned quicker than I expected.” Samedi’s eager smile looked the Demon up and down. “Did you kill one of Angel’s friends?”

“One has fallen.” The demon’s voice spoke with Charlie’s lips, as it looked over at Angel. “And I wanted to show Angel the blood.”

“You are truly evil, princess. By all means, tease Angel before you kill him.” Samedi smirked. He didn’t care about Bible’s order, now. He would take the demon up to his office and eliminate him, all on their own.

Angel tried to move back against the wall, but the pain in his body caused him to yelp and drop back down. He watched his Charlie, distorted by the binding spell, stalk over his way. The IT demon's body flowed around Charlie’s face, and her eyes burned with hatred. It was her voice that spoke next, controlled by the IT demon, “You kept me like a bitch all these months, yet you wouldn’t fuck me, you impotent prick. I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I’m going to have ripping your guts out and drinking your warm blood!”

In their head, Charlie wept. She had managed to trick the IT demon into believing it had killed Shrapnel, while she plunged a dart from her wrist sheath into his neck, but the strength of the amulet wasn’t enough and now the IT demon had control back. It knew all of Charlie’s thoughts and feelings, and was using them now to hurt Angel’s heart before killing him.

“Angel!” Charlie screamed as the IT demon opened it’s clawed hand wide, and pulled IT’s arm back to swipe and take off Angel’s head when the amulet’s energy erupted.

IT screamed again, and stumbled back and reached up to feel for the amulet, “What is this? What have you done to me?” IT grabbed at the amulet and yelped as the amulet burned IT’s palm. The pain raced through the demon’s soul and it shouted loudly in Charlie’s voice. “You will never have control again, bitch!” But it stumbled, as Charlie fought from inside. 

“You will never hurt my Angel!”

“What are you waiting for, bitch! Kill Angel!”

The command overruled Charlie and the IT demon laughed in their head and with the command reaffirmed, the IT demon had control back! IT reared up and Charlie screamed.

“CHARLIE! STOP!” 

From the doorway, Cassie appeared, shouting out the command to get Charlie’s attention. The IT demon stopped, and felt Charlie rise up and grab IT by the metaphysical neck and internally the two began to struggle for control. 

Samedi spun upon hearing Cassie’s shout and raised his right hand as his left gripped his necklace to call upon its power and pointed towards Cassie. Cassie saw the movement, turned and with eyes that held a green glow around the edges, silently flicked her fingers at Samedi. Samedi screamed as he was flung by an invisible power and crashed against the wall and fell, unconscious. Cassie turned her attention back and watched as the IT demon took control yet again, having won the battle with Charlie.

“Charlotte Morningstar!” Cassie called out, and the IT demon spun around, growling deep, “Remember who you are!” Cassie then called out the spell she had prepared those many days earlier when she’d first given Charlie the amulet, modified to focus Samedi’s binding, “Remitto te, Charlotte Morningstar, ex ligatura Samedi!”

The demon paused and titled IT’s head and then IT’s eyes grew wide in shock. Under her shirt, Charlie’s amulet once again sparked, yet this time when it did, it sent energy downward into the vial below. Inside, the snapdragons burst into flame, sending red and gold colored energy outward. The energy coated Charlie/IT and exploded throughout the room. The explosion blasted through Samedi’s altar, all but obliterating it, except the base. The energy swam against the walls and ceiling and destroyed Bible’s secret camera. With the explosion of energy, it carried the IT demon’s control with it and IT screamed in pain and rage as it was swallowed back into the recesses somewhere deep in Charlie’s soul, where it flailed about before it was locked behind a black door, which then faded into nothing. Charlie fell to her hands and knees, and steam rose from her back. The room grew deftly quiet. Cassie, with nothing left in her, all her magic depleted and pain taking over, fell against the wall by the door and drooped her head. “Please work.” She whispered.

“Ch-Charlie?” Angel swallowed hard, “Are you okay?”

When Charlie lifted her head, Angel felt his body tense, as he stared into eyes of pure white. No pupils, no irises, just white light. When she began to crawl his way, he watched her horns grow outwards, her tail flash into existence behind her and the soft patter of her hands became clicks on the stone as her claws grew long. When Charlie reached Angel, her blond hair lifted on its own and wrapped around them, as if they were alone in a mass of seaweed. Angel felt her cheek nestle against his, and her warm breath was soft, inviting. Her next words made him cry.

“It’s me, Angel.” Charlie’s voice washed along his ear softly, and he felt her lips brush his cheek in the softest of kisses, “I promise.”

Angel wept and he felt her hot tears mesh with his and they held themselves in that moment. The moment however, was interrupted by Samedi, who had regained consciousness and pulled himself up by what was left of his altar and came to stand in front of it. He looked over, angrily, at Angel and Charlie against the wall.

“KILL HIM, YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU BELONG TO ME!”

Angel felt Charlie tense and she pulled away from him until her face was in front of his. Now, her eyes were blood red, and she growled deeply, “I also made another promise.”

With a speed beyond human ability, Charlie stood and turned hard and fast, her right arm turned red, with golden lines of energy swirling from her shoulder to his wrist and it grew long.. longer than should be possible. As it grew and she spun, the fingers became talons the likes of an Eagle and her voice shrieked like one as well. With a single swipe, Charlie Morningstar tore through Samedi’s neck severing it below the Adam's apple.. Angel watched Samedi’s head fly into the far wall and smack it in a bloody pulp before falling to the dusty floor. Samedi’s body stood for a moment more before it crumbled to the ground in a bloody pile, the necklace falling to the side, broken in two.

“Fuck yes!” Cassie whispered from the doorway. “That’s our girl!”

Charlie looked at her distorted arm and flexed the talons at the end, “Daddy never told me I could do this.” She concentrated and her arm returned to normal.

Angel’s sudden coughing caught Charlie’s attention and she ran to Angel. “Hold on, my love!” Charlie flicked her fingers, and the chains snapped under the force of her demon fire. Angel fell forward and Charlie caught him and eased him down. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.” Angel smiled up at Charlie, “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’m so so so sorry, Angel. I should have been with you. I am supposed to be your armor!”

“My armor?” Angel winced in pain as he tried to sit up against the wall.

Charlie blushed, “Something I sang about. That I would always be there to protect you, and yet all I ever seem to do is fail.”

“You’ve done so much, saved so many lives.” Angel caressed her cheek, pulling her close, “And you saved me, tonight. You are my armor, and more than anything, I love you, Charlie Morningstar.”

He pulled her into a kiss, full of passion and love and she returned it gratefully. She reached up to pull him in, but he winced and she broke the kiss. “Oh, my. I forgot. You’re a mess!”

“We all are.” Cassie said as she pulled herself up and limped over, “I don’t suppose?”

Charlie helped her to kneel next to Angel and closed her eyes. The two watched her body glow bright as her wings extended from her back and came around to wrap them in a sort of shroud. With power called from her soul, Charlie bathed the three of them in a soft white almost maternal glow. She opened her eyes as the energies floated around them, “I don’t know how I can do this.” She began, “I never could back home.”

“Charlie?” Cassie looked at her.

“I remember. I remember everything.” Charlie smiled. “I don’t know how, or why, but I have my memories back.”

Angel felt his body growing strong, his breaks and bruises fading, “You’re whole, again.”

Charlie nodded softly, “I remember my father. My mother, Lilith, who I felt inside me when I sang on the roof. I remember my friends. I remember the life I had there. I remember… me.”

“Somehow, breaking the binding spell must have triggered something and unlocked your memories.” Cassie ventured.

“I don’t know.” Charlie flexed her wings to wrap tighter around them as her power finished healing all three. “But what I do know is; I’m home.” Charlie smiled but tilted her head at Cassie, “How did you save me?”

Cassie motioned for Charlie to bring out her amulet, and Cassie took it into the palm of her hand, “I didn’t explain everything to you the day I gifted this to you. The crystal did absorb your energy, as I said it would. It was meant to help you keep control of yourself should you be bound.”

“It did. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to fight back. Whenever I tried to stand against the binding, it flashed and gave me power.”

“As I planned.” Cassie smiled, “But, I never did tell you about the flowers. The snapdragon petals, in wiccan circles, are used to break spells. When I called out the breaking spell, the flowers erupted and did their job. Better than I’d hoped, honestly.”

“Amazing, sis.” Angel whispered as he reached out to touch the amulet for a moment.

“And now.” Cassie encased the amulet’s crystal in her hand, closing her fist around it. Charlie and Angel watched green energy flare around Cassie’s eyes and they watched her hand glow bright. In a moment, the energy faded and Cassie let go of the amulet, letting it drop against Charlie’s breast. “That should give you another advantage.”

Charlie smiled and embraced Cassie, “Thank you, dear sister. You saved us.”

With an equal grip, Cassie held Charlie and sniffed, “I will always be here for you.” 

As the energy of the healing ebbed, Angel cracked his neck, and felt whole again. “So, Charlie, any other tricks you have up your sleeves?”

“Well.” Charlie smirked, “I think I’ve gotten the hang of chess.”

Angel grinned. “Well, we do have one last piece to take off the board, and I think it’s about time we finish this.”

Cassie lifted her head, eyes distant. Angel caught it. “Sis?”

“I feel the others. I feel them through the ley-lines.” Cassie looked to Angel. “I found my power when I fought Rygen, and now I can feel the lines in my soul. They found the children, and they’re getting them out.”

“Go to them!” Angel nodded to Charlie who pulled her wings back and folded them away. The three stood up and Angel continued, “I’m guessing Brute flew you all here?”

“Yes. The plane’s about an hour from here, and I don’t think Charlie can teleport all of us.”

“I can’t.” Charlie frowned.

“Then we’ll round up jeeps. We got six who can drive. I’ll get things organized. You two go take care of that fucker.”

“Oh, we will.” Angel nodded, and looked at Charlie. “Are you ready for this?”

“Yes.’ Charlie’s eyes pulsed red, “And I have a plan.”

Notes:

First time Google docs screwed up and I lost a page I had really loved writing. I think I got it back mostly, and it turned out better than I'd hoped.

The finish line's in sight.

Chapter 52: I'm Not A Demon

From the doorway of Samedi’s altar room, Angel, Charlie and Cassie stepped into the hallway. Angel took in the sight of the slaughtered guard laying in two halves on the floor, closed his eyes and shook his head. He opened them and looked at Cassie, “Rygen’s gone, right?”

“Sent the fucker back to hell!” Cassie nodded, “And with Samedi dead, he can’t come back.”

“Good!” Angel gently knelt to avoid getting any guts or blood on him, or anymore he already had from his beatings, and carefully slipped the guards rifle out his cold fingers, “Cause except for Charlie, I hope I never see another demon for as long as I live.”

“I’m not a demon.” 

Angel and Cassie looked at each other and then to Charlie. Angel looked apologetic, “I didn’t mean it that way, Hun.”

“I know.” Charlie smiled softly, “I wasn’t offended.” She stepped up to Angel and kissed him for assurance and explained. “I’m hell-borne. I have a soul, and I’m unique among my people. Not a demon, but something much, much more.“

Cassie licked her lips, “I gotta ask; what happened to you when Samedi bound you? What you became was…”

“I don’t know.” Charlie frowned, “And it’s something I hope to ask my father, some day. What I do know, is that I have control over it, for now. And we have more important problems to worry about, right now.”

“You’re right.” Cassie nodded and looked down the hallway, “Let’s get to the foyer, and I’ll head down to rendezvous with the team and organize our escape and you two take care of that son of a bitch.”

Angel checked the gun, and looked at his sister, “I don’t know. Maybe we should just go with you, first, to make sure you’re safe.”

Right then, two of Bible’s men came charging down the hallway, guns up and pointed at the three. One shouted loudly, “Stay where you are!”

Cassie rolled her eyes, which flared with green energy and she waved her hand at the guards. The two men shouted in shock as they were flung up into the air and thrown backwards some ten yards. They crashed to the floor, their guns scattered away, and they looked up in fear as Charlie took on her full demon form and swarmed over them. She hissed at them “Run, assholes.”

With haste, they obeyed and scurried off, occasionally tripping and falling as they tried to get away from the swirling mass of Charlie’s demonic form, and she grinned as she shifted back to her hybrid form. “I’ll never get bored of seeing the fear on those prick’s faces.”

Angel stepped up to her and next to Cassie and shrugged, “Never mind. You’re good.”

“Damn right I am!” Cassie looked at her hand, “But I have a lot of research to do. I didn’t feel this powerful until I ran from the altar room earlier. I knew I was growing in power, but this?”

“Focus on the mission.” Angel took point and ushered them along, “Those were only two soldiers, which tells me Bible’s forces are depleted, or otherwise re-positioned for a second attack. Charlie and I need to get his attention, carry out our plan and end this. Cassie, on my six. Charlie, cover us from above!”

Charlie shifted back into full demon form and took to the ceiling, her body twisted upside down and matched Angel’s speed, ready to ambush anyone that got in their way. A few minutes later, the three reached the foyer and Angel darted his eyes about, and confirmed it was clear. 

Cassie pointed up the stairs, “Bible greeted us from up there, so his office or whatever should be down the hallway.” She looked down the hall towards the entrance to the outside, “With all those explosions, there’s little doubt that Shrapnel has an escape already cleared. I’ll head out to meet them.”

Angel handed the rifle to Cassie, “For the next part of the plan, I won’t be needing this.”

Cassie took the rifle, slung it over her shoulder and pulled Angel into an embrace, “Be careful, brother.”

He hugged her back, tightly. “You too.” 

Cassie stepped back and looked over to Charlie, who was still hovering on the ceiling, her red eyes moved all over, in deep sentry mode. “And you, dear sister, be safe.”

Charlie’s red eyes turned to Cassie’s and bled away to reveal Charlie’s soft yellow eyes, and her human voice came out of the black mass, “We promise, sis. Go help the children. We got this!”

With a salute, Cassie turned and ran down the hallway. Angel watched her go, and he didn’t feel any fear for her. No, it was whomever got in her way he pitied. He shook himself to get steady, took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Angel watched the black mass that was his girlfriend explode outwards and come down over him, and he disappeared inside the swirling black as she swooped them up and over the railing. 

***

Cassie moved swiftly down the hall until she reached the entrance and stopped, pressed herself against the wall and listened intently to the sounds outside. Sirens were going off and there was some distant shouting, but it sounded to her as most of it was panicked soldiers running away. None of them expected demons, she bet, and were not trained for this. Prepping the rifle, Cassie stepped outside and took stock of the fallen bodies, and quickly accessed Snapshot’s work. She turned and ran along the wall until she got to the corner, peered around and smirked. Aside from the various bodies, all of them Bible’s fallen soldiers, the coast was clear, and she ran with all due haste down the side wall of the compound.

With the compound as long as it was, clearing some one hundred plus yards took about than five minutes, with periodic pauses to listen for opposition, and she finally came to two large broken sections of outer wall, sized up Shrapnel’s work and moved further until she reached a blast hole in the side of the compound. Rifle pressed to her shoulder, she turned into the hole, ready to blast anyone she didn’t recognize and heard a yelp of surprise.

“Jesus!” Snapshot shouted, his gun trained on Cassie in response. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“I’m just glad you have more control than most with their weapon.” Cassie grinned as she lowered her rifle with Snapshot mirroring the action.

“I do know how to control my trigger.” Snapshot gave a wink.

“Is no situation safe from your flirts?” Chatterbug punched his shoulder.

“Not if you keep setting them up for me.”

Cassie sighed, but internally she needed the humor from him. It told her he had faith in the situation, and that eased her fears. She blew him a raspberry, stepped past him and looked down the stairway, “What’s the sit?”

All serious, Snapshot slung his rifle and joined her at the staircase, “They’re coming. Just taking it slow just in case. I’ve been covering up here, but you’re the only one I’ve seen.”

Cassie nodded, heard voices coming their way, and tensed with her finger pressed next to the trigger of her rifle. When she heard the voices of children, she sighed in relief and slung her rifle. Seconds later, Panther appeared with a young woman who trailed close behind, also armed. 

“Chatterbug! Snapshot!” Panther grinned, “We got them all!”

“Thank the Goddesses!” Chatterbug grabbed Panther and hugged her tight.

Panther accepted the hug for a moment, then stepped back and nodded to the girl, “This is Molly. One tough bad-ass. She took out the last soldier and has protected the kids since they got here.”

Molly’s eyes were serious as she guided the children past her to collect around Chatterbug, Snapshot and Panther, but she nodded towards Chatterbug, “You got us a ride out of here?”

“She’s also to the point.” Panther quipped.

“There’s jeeps outside, scattered along the compound's outer walls, plus a couple here on the inside.” Snapshot answered.

“How many kids we got?” Chatterbug watched as they all converged, and smiled warmly as she saw Brute carrying the last, smaller girl in his arms come up the last few steps.

“Twenty three.” Molly answered, “Plus me. How many soldiers did you bring?”

Brute looked at Chatterbug, “Angel? Charlie?”

“Taking care of business.” Chatterbug’s voice was firm, but he heard the tinge of worry. 

“They’ll be fine.” Brute said with certainty and turned his attention to Molly, “Seven.”

“Seven!?” Molly scoffed.

“If you only knew who was in the seven.” Chatterbug smirked. “Come on, we have thirty-some bodies to move out of here, so we’re gonna need at least six jeeps.”

“Shrapnel’s injured.” Snapshot finally revealed, and they turned to him, “He was attacked by Charlie, but somehow she managed to tranquilize him, nothing more. I just didn’t know she looked like that.”

“She doesn’t.” Chatterbug said as she motioned the kids to follow Panther outside, “That’s a discussion for another time. Since he’s out, and Charlie and Angel are busy, we’ll have to go with four jeeps. Get the kids along the outer wall between those two jeeps and we’ll collect the others and move them out.”

Snapshot pointed to the jeep on the left. “Shrapnel’s in the back of that one, out of sight.”

Brute came up and peered outside at the jeeps and assessed the surroundings, then he looked at Molly, “You lead.”

Without a word, Molly stepped past Chatterbug and Brute and motioned the kids to follow her. Brute nodded his head to Panther and Snapshot to go mid pack and he turned to Chatterbug, “You take the six. I’ll cover.”

Chatterbug pulled her rifle off her shoulder, nodded to Brute and moved out through the hole in the side of the compound.  In moments, they had moved the kids quickly to safety between the jeeps.

Panther moved to the back of the one jeep and lifted the tailgate. “Oh, fuck.” Her voice wavered at the sight of her friend. Her voice, though, stirred him and he opened his eyes. And he screamed.

“NO!” Shrapnel cried out, “P-please no!”

“Shhh!” Panther leaned in and put a hand on Shrapnel’s chest, “It’s okay, Frank, you’re okay! It’s me, Lisa!”

“Ch-charlie!” Shrapnel looked around the jeep, eyes wide.

“She’s okay.” Chatterbug poked her head in with a soft, reassuring smile, “We got her back. She fought the binding and just tranked you. She saved you, Hun.”

Shrapnel dropped his head back. “I th-thought I w-was dead for s-sure!”

Molly popped her head into the jeep from the side, “Who the fuck is Charlie?”

Panther looked at Chatterbug, who gave Molly a mischievous grin, “She’s my brother’s demon.”

Molly raised a skeptical eyebrow, but she heard the little girl she’d held speak up behind her, “Told you it was a demon.” 

Molly’s expression changed from the tough, no nonsense woman who had looked over the children to one of awe, “A real demon?”

“Yes.” Chatterbug replied seriously, as she looked past Molly at the compound, her confidence and worry in a constant battle for dominance,  “And our best chance of ending all of this, once and for all.”

Chapter 53: Final Showdown - Angel vs Bible

Notes:

So, while writing this chapter, I realized I wrote myself into a corner, and the only viable way out of it, was to change a couple of scenes in previous chapters. As this is a first draft and a learning experience, as well as I am posting quickly to not lose the desire to finish, I find it easier to correct things and let you know how the story has changed because of it. I have also learned that I find mistakes more readily after I post, than before. I don't know why, it's likely cause I re-read a lot of my chapters once they're up. When I do v2, it will be cleaner and more streamlined.

The issue: When I wrote the IT demon being so powerful as to leave the summoning circle, I inadvertently created a problem with the final scene, which I had planned out in theory for months. So, the scene with the IT demon stepping from the circle when Charlie is corrupted, is altered so that Samedi has to release IT to kill Angel.

“GOD DAMMIT!” Bible slammed his fist down into the desk as he watched the screen go black, the camera destroyed by Charlie’s electrical discharge brought about by Cassie’s spell. He knew she’d been released from Samedi’s control, and if he knew Angel and Cassie the way he did, Samedi was done for, and that was the only bit he wasn’t upset about. Punching the call button on his desk, he shouted angrily, “Give me an update, NOW!”

“Sir!” The voice came back, “All contact to the squad leaders has ceased. All video surveillance cameras show only bodies on the grounds.”

“And the cells?” Bible’s rage was building with the answer he expected to hear, and froze with the words.

“The invaders took out the guards and released the children.”

Ice cold words seeped from Bible, “You are the last. Grab your gun and go kill them all!”

“Fuck that!” The voice bawked. “You’re on your own. Sir!”

“How fucking dare you!” Bible screamed into the com, only to be greeted by static. Bible roared and punched the worthless monitor, which shattered the screen before it was ripped from its mount and scattered to the floor. Bible turned and ripped open a drawer on his desk and fished out a black button sized device and a wafer thin rectangle and placed both into his breast pocket. Next, he opened another drawer and pulled out his Glock pistol and sat in on the desk in front of him.  Bible then opened a box on the desk and took out a cigar, bit the end and lit it. He let the smoke waft around him and took in the scent before he sat back in his chair. “Come, Angel. Come to me, and let’s finish this, once and for all.” Bible chewed on the end of the cigar and went still. 

Bible slowed his breathing, let his body melt away the rage, so that he could control his thoughts and emotions. He pieced together everything he had seen and heard. He deduced that the demon princess would come to him, pretending to be bound, and ‘present’ Angel to him as a gift. He would gladly accept, and motion her to come stand by his side. Then, as she would do as commanded, feigning being controlled, she would be trapped inside the circle he’d created and hid under the rug, one that would first trap her, and once he’d killed Angel in front of her, he would recite the binding spell and make her his. Finally, he would rape her next to Angel’s dead body, and make her look at him and remember who he was to her. Bible would torture her for the rest of her miserable life, while she served and obeyed him without any means of escape. The fantasy calmed him, and he prepared himself for their arrival. 

He did not have to wait a very long time. He heard movement in the hallway,  leaned forward, and stood up. He took the gun, placed it in the hem of his pants and watched the door open. Despite everything he’d seen and heard about Charlotte Morningstar, he was not prepared for what seeped in through the entrance. Dark black strands enveloped the doorway, and a form, almost inhuman like, floated in the middle of the doorway. 

“I bring you a gift.” The demonic voice, which barely registered as female, spoke before the blackness receded, and Angel tumbled out and forward with a grunt as he hit the ground. 

“Welcome, Charlotte Morningstar.” Bible smiled, and looked down at Angel, “And Angel, good to see you again, my boy.”

“Fuck you!” Angel spat.

Bible laughed and came around the desk, took four large strides, stepped up to Angel, and looked down, “Now, is that how you greet your commander, son?”

“The only way I want to greet you is with my fist through your face.” Angel hissed and added with a mocking tone, “Sir!”

With a sudden lash, Bible kicked Angel in the ribs, the force knocking all the air out of him, and Angel tumbled on his side, “Sorry, boy. But you won’t get the chance.” Bible looked over to Charlie, hovering in the door, and saw her face through the black strands show concern. “Come, my princess, come to me. Together, we shall end Angel’s miserable, wretched life!”

***

Charlie watched Angel tumble out from under her gentle arms, as he put effort into the fall and acted out the pain as he hit the floor. She watched Bible come around and kick him, and it took all of her strength not to react. When she called on her to come to him, all she wanted to do was lash out and take his head off, but she had to follow the plan she’d set. All she needed to do was be near him, wait for him to be distracted, and she would take him out. She moved in, intent to put herself next to Bible, when an invisible force grabbed her, and she felt pain shoot up her body and she screamed.

***

Angel turned sharply at Charlie’s sudden scream of pain, “Charlie!”

He heard Bible laugh behind him, “Aha! I knew it!”

Angel turned to see Bible come back to him, kneel beside him, and slap him hard on the back. He pointed to Charlie, “Did you think I’m stupid, Angel? After all the training I’d given you? I saw the events that took place in Samedi’s altar. I saw your sister break Samedi’s spell. I knew you’d try to pull this ruse! I learned a lot from watching Samedi, and drew a trapping circle for your bitch!” Bible drew back and punched downward, striking Angel in the back of the head, knocking him face first into the floor. 

“Angel!” Charlie cried out as her black demon form shifted back to her hybrid form, her red eyes glaring at Bible, “Leave him alone, you mother-fucker!”

“Oooh!” Bible smirked, “You got quite the mouth on you, princess. I shall look forward to using it well.” Bible cupped his crotch, laughing. “But first, I am going to kill Angel while you watch. I wanted you to kill him, originally, but this will prove to you that I am not a man to be fucked with! And when I’m done, I will bind you to me, and you will serve me... In every way I can imagine!”

“No!” Charlie’s voice broke, and she looked at Angel, scared for him.

Bible pulled the Glock out of the hem of his pants, and pointed it at Angel, “Get up!”

Angel turned his head, blood on his nose, and stared at Bible. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes fixed on the Glock, “You really want to end this with a bullet to my head, Robert? After all, we never did find out who the better fighter was, did we?”

“Really, Kevin?” Bible shook his head, “You going to try that tactic? To rile me up so I’d fight you, rather than just kill you?”

“You got Charlie trapped. It’s just me and you.” Angel shifted into a defensive stance, “Because of me, you had to run away from the service, hide here in Libya for the rest of your days. I’ve been a thorn in your side for years, and you didn’t even realize it. I know you, Sir. You want this.”

Bible looked over at Charlie, who pushed against the invisible circle and yelped in pain as she pulled her hand back, steam rising from slight red burns on her skin. She glared at him, “Pathetic limp-dick. Angel will wipe the floor with you!”

“Oh, please.” Bible sighed, “You two are so pathetic.” He slipped his finger around the trigger and felt it move as he squeezed, “All I have to do is pull the trigger, and all my worries disappear.”

“True.” Angel swayed, still ready to fight. “But you once told me, Sir, that a true warrior has no fear. I’m not afraid of you, Bible, but you sure as fuck are afraid of me.”

“Never have I feared you, boy!” Bible spat and eased his finger off the trigger, “But I do commend you.” He backed up to the desk and placed the Glock on it. “You sold me on the fight. I will gladly beat you to a pulp, bind your bitch, and have her join me in killing you.” 

“Try it, asshole!” 

Bible stalked forward and kicked his left foot out to drive Angel back. Angel blocked the kick, knocked Bible’s leg down, and threw a punch. Bible blocked it with his forearm and swung hard. Angel caught the arm and slammed his head forward, which caught Bible in the nose. Bible immediately reached his free hand behind Angel’s head to hold him in place and sent his knee up into Angel’s stomach. Angel gasped and fell back as he heard Charlie scream his name.

Bible stepped forward to erase the space between them, which let Angel drop and sweep Bible’s leg out from under him. Bible fell on his ass, and Angel jumped on top, throwing haymakers into Bible’s face, but only two connected before Bible lifted his body up with his feet, messed up Angel’s angle, and threw a right punch that knocked Angel to the floor. 

While Angel got his palms under him to lift himself up, Bible turned his body and kicked hard with the sole of his boot, which clipped Angel in the chin, and he felt a tooth fly out as he was forced onto his side. Bible righted himself to his feet and dove at Angel, who rolled far enough that Bible hit ground and nothing else. Angel pushed himself up to get some height, and came down with an elbow to the back of Bibles neck! With quickness, Angel pulled Bible’s arm to trap it between his legs and wrapped his arm around Bible’s neck with the palm of his hand pressed against his other wrist, in an attempt to choke Bible out.

Bible growled and pried at Angel’s arm with his hands, and he felt Angel dig in with the submission. Bible shifted his body and managed to put Angel on his back. He got his elbow in position and slammed it into Angel’s kidneys. Angel gasped, and Bible felt the pressure ease and struck again. Angel let go, and Bible turned and delivered multiple body shots with his fist to Angel’s ribs. Angel coughed hard, reached up, and raked Bible’s eyes with his fingers. 

Bible screamed and rolled away, but got to his feet in a swift movement and wiped his eyes clear. Angel followed suit and dove for Bible, wrapped his arms around Bibles knees, and pulled with all his might. Bible, however, was a heavier, bulkier man, and he hooked his fists together and drove them into Angel’s back, which dropped him onto his knees. Bible spat on Angel and lifted his fists again to pummle Angel, again. With desperation, Angel took his arm, slipped it between Bible’s legs, and thrust upward! The impact of arms to testicals turned Bible’s face red, and he groaned and dropped forward against Angel’s shoulder. With a hard push, Angel lunged upwards, and with Bible on his shoulder, Angel tilted backwards and sent Bible careening over him, and  he crashed to the floor., face first. 

With Bible down, Angel dove for the desk and swooped up the Glock. He turned and limped over to Bible, who was gasping for breath, and placed the gun against the back of his head, “Told you I was better.”

“But not smarter.” Bible growled as he pulled his hand out of his breast pocket, the small device in his hand, and pressed the single red button on it.

Angel screamed as electricity raced through his body and he fell, the Glock hitting the ground as Angel’s hands lost control. Charlie screamed as Bible stood up and kicked Angel in the face, knocking him onto his stomach. Bible looked at Charlie, who was panicking in the circle, and he put his kneel on Angel’s back and pointed to the black button between Angel’s shoulders, right where Bible had smacked him minutes before when Charlie had dumped him on the floor in front of Bible, “You’ll never be as good as me, my boy. This is a modified version of a taser, small yet absolutely effective, that I slapped on your back without you knowing. I was never in danger of losing our fight. You didn't goad me in; I knew I’d have the advantage the whole time! And here I thought I’d trained you so much better, to think of every possibility. I am truly ashamed.”

Bible picked up the gun and stood. He looked at Charlie, her eyes wet with tears, and she shook, fear evident on her face. She licked her lips, “Please. You will control me soon. I am the most powerful demon to ever walk in hell. With me, you are going to be unstoppable. Angel will never be able to stop you. Please. Let him live.”

“I like the sound of your pleas, princess.” Bible looked down at Angel, and placed the gun at his forehead. “Beg.”

“What?” Charlie’s voice cracked.

“Beg for his life, but better than that. Make me believe it. Make me feel for you, dear princess.”

“I love him. I love him with all of my heart.” Charlie cried, “If you let him live, I will know he is safe, and I won’t ever try to fight your control. You will have granted me one wish, and in return, I will serve you, willingly. For all the days that my love lives. Please, Sir… I beg you.”

Bible cracked his neck, took a couple of steps forward, turned so that his back was facing Charlie and shifted the gun to lay against Angel’s forehead. “She tells a good lie, doesn’t she, my boy.”

Angel glared up at him, “When Charlie makes a promise, she keeps it. You could ask Samedi. If he still had his head.”

Bible laughed heartedly, “So the bastard’s dead? I thought so! How wonderful!” 

“What happened to you?” Angel’s eyes looked up, “You used to be such a good man.”

“Wait?” Bible chuckled, “You want a fucking reason? A motive? For all of this?”

“Yes!” Angel hissed, “Goddammit, yes! You were my mentor! My hero! Why did you fall like this?”

“Because I’m a fucking pervert!” Bible laughed with malice, And I want power! All the power in the world! Maybe all the power in hell, itself! Now that I have the princess,! And you know what?” Bible pushed the tip of the gun hard into Angel’s forhead, and Angel was forced to bow from the position he was in, “You could have had a part in all of this! You were the best I’d ever trained! I did love you, son! I really did! But you had to go and have a bleeding heart! Had you come back to me and told me the mission was a success, if I’d seen what I wanted, I would have offered you to be my right hand man! You honestly think I want to kill you? I don’t. But no one goes against The Bible, son. My word is law! And I’m truly sorry, but for my world to rise, you must fall!”

“You’re right.” Angel’s voice shook as he saw the end near, and swallowed to control himself, “You did train me. You taught me everything I’ve ever known. Made me the best special forces ranger in the military. Did you know they offered me the promotion to Colonel after you went AWOL? That’s all owed to you.”

“Really?” Bible smirked with pride, his pressure on the trigger eased, “And you didn’t take it?”

“How could I?” Angel licked his lips, “After what you made me do? But I can’t deny that I became the man I am today, because of you, searching for redemption, rescuing lost souls. Even when I was against you, it was your training that got me here. You trained me to be the best man I could even dream of being. Thank you.”

“Just not as good as me.” Bible tensed his finger around the trigger, “And now, this is the end.”

“But!” Angel stalled.

Bible sighed, “But, what?”

“You forgot one thing.” Angel looked up at Bible, his eyes narrowed, and a slight smile formed along his lips.

“And what is that, dear boy?” Bible smiled back.

“I trained my own partner.”

Bible’s face changed as realization dawned on him, and he spun as fast as he could, raising the gun at Charlie. But Charlie was no longer in the circle. She was running at Bible at a speed he didn’t believe could be possible. Bible fired shot after shot right at Charlie’s face, but she had already dropped, tucked herself into a ball, and rolled past Bible’s leg to twist and kneel next to Angel. Swiftly, she plucked the black button off his back and threw it away, while simultaneously, she slapped Angel’s gun, which she had tucked into the back of her blue jeans, into the palm of his hand. Bible turned back to shoot, but Angel aimed and fired one shot.

Bible stopped, frozen, and looked at Angel and Charlie for a moment, before he lowered his eyes to his chest. In fascination and lack of feeling, he watched a red circle of blood begin to swell outward from the spot where his cold, shriveled heart lay beneath his chest. He heard his gun drop from a hand that he couldn’t feel anymore, and with his other hand, he touched the spot and marveled at how little pain he felt. With a thud, Bible dropped to his knees, and then onto his back. He stared at the ceiling and then saw Charlie and Angel come into view above him.

“H..How?” He whispered.

“I knew you would be prepared for anything I could think of.” Angel said as he pointed his gun at Bible, “So, Charlie took point. She had an idea, and we went with it.”

Charlie took out her amulet from under her shirt, “Cassie imbued this with a breaking spell, similar to the one that freed me from Samedi’s control. With all Angel had told me about you, I had no doubt you would be ready for me, in the event I was not bound anymore. I played the part, letting you believe you had me trapped, so you would not think of me and focus on beating up Angel. When you were focused on him, I whispered the spell and was freed. I waited for the cue from Angel, and made my move.” Charlie tucked the amulet back under her shirt, flashed her eyes red, licked her lips, and grinned at Bible, “4-D chess, bitch!”

Bible nodded his head once as he felt the darkness close in on him, “Bravo, princess… Bra…vo.” And with eyes closed, Bible was dead.

Angel dropped down, held the gun against Bible’s chest and checked his pulse with his other hand. Satisfied that Bible was truly dead, Angel flicked the safety on his gun and tucked it into his back. He looked up at Charlie with a confused look, “What the heck was that?”

Charlie blushed, smiled softly, and shrugged, “Catchphrase?”

Chapter 54: Mission Accomplished

Tires screeched outside the front entrance of the compound as four jeeps came to quick stop. Cassie and Brute hoped out of the first two jeeps and moved to the entrance, guns raised. Brute gave Cassie the side eye, “You can really sense them?”

Cassie nodded, “Ever since I realized I could tap into the leylines, I’ve been connected to my brother, and Charlie, on a metaphysical level. It feels very weird, Brute, and I’d rather not try to explain it.”

Snapshot had stepped out of his jeep, and smirked at Cassi’s remark, opened his mouth but she turned and gave him a look, “Keep it to yourself, kiddo!”

Snapshot blinked and he heard Panther chuckle from her jeep, before addressing Cassie directly, “So, what do you feel?”

“Violence. Fear. But also control. And it’s not from Bible.” Cassie smiled softly, then her eyes lifted up, “Be alert! Someone’s coming.”

Everyone tensed and lifted their weapons. Panther noted that Molly had stepped out of the passenger side and took up position on her side in a very professional way. Panther immediately knew she’d take this kid under her wing if she wanted.

Moments passed and then Cassie let out a joyful cheer and dropped her gun. The others eased up their positions as Cassie ran through the doors and shortly after, led Angel who was carrying a satchel, and Charlie outside. Everyone shouted and ran up to the pair.

“Angel!” Panther grabbed him and squeezed. 

Angel sniffed and returned the embrace, “Lisa! It is so good to see you!”

“I’ve missed you, my friend!” Panther stood back, “Next time, just call for dinner? Don’t get kidnapped?

“With my lifestyle?” Angel smirked and then got hit from the side by Snapshot, who spun him around.

“Angel! My God man, you had us worried!” Snapshot’s whimsical demeanor had dropped, and the vulnerable side made Angel smile.

“Trevor. I promise not to ever do that to you, or anyone else again.” Angel hugged Snapshot back, firmly.

Brute stepped up, and Angel moved behind Snapshot playfully, “From you, no hug!” 

Brute laughed as Snapshot stepped aside, and gripped Angel’s hands firmly, “I’m so glad you’re safe, brother.”

“Me too, Francis. I am so grateful you were all able to answer Cassie’s call.” Angel beamed, “And come out of it in one piece.”

“Most of us did.” Brute’s smile faded. “Craig was injured pretty badly.” Brute didn’t specify, but Angel knew what he meant by Charlie’s gasp and look of fear.

“Charlie.” Cassie put a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off and stepped up to Brute.

“Where is he?”

Brute hesitated, and Charlie said again, her voice deeper, “Where. IS. he?”

Brute turned and led Charlie to the back of the last jeep. Panther started to move defensively, but Brute held up a hand. He turned once they got to the jeep and lifted the tailgate. Molly, her eyes on Charlie, moved to follow and see what was going on. Charlie leaned in to the back of the jeep and saw Shrapnel laying there, his head propped up on one of the older girls, who was dabbing a cloth over his forehead.

Charlie smiled at the girl, “That’s very sweet of you. How is he?”

The girl looked at Shrapnel, then Charlie, “He’s talking in his sleep, mumbling about a demon. He has a fever I think.”

Charlie put her hands on the bumper and lifted herself in as Angel appeared at the side of the jeep, “Charlie?”

She turned, “I’m not leaving him like this, Angel.”

Angel nodded and smiled reassuringly, and Charlie looked at the children, “I need a little room, please?”

Confused, the kids moved away and the one girl lowered Shrapnel’s head onto the floor of the jeep, “What are you going to do?”

Charlie smiled, “Take care of my dear friend.” Charlie leaned forward over Shrapnel and placed her head on his chest. The girls in the jeep, and Molly outside, all gasped as wings unfolded from Charlie’s back and she let them rest around herself, Shrapnel and the jeep as her body began to glow a soft white haze. In mere moments, the glow dissipated and Charlie sat back on her knees, her head bowed, as Shrapnel’s eyes opened and he gazed at her.

“Cha-Charl-ie?” There was still fear in his voice, but he saw Charlie bowed before him, her body slightly shaking, and he propped himself up on his elbows, “You saved my life, didn’t you?”

Charlie looked up, wiped tears from her eyes and nodded, “You helped me keep my promise.”

“Thank you.” Shrapnel reached out, took her hand and squeezed it. Charlie lost it and grabbed Shrapnel and held him tight, whispers of ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry’ spoken against his shoulder.

Angel reached in and placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder and she let go of Shrapnel, who laid back down with a smile, and offered Charlie a nod of thanks again. Charlie eased herself out of the jeep and Molly looked at her, “You’re not like any demon I’ve ever heard of.”

“Because I’m not a demon.” Charlie smirked, “Not to my friends, anyway. But to the monsters of the world, I’m their fucking nightmare!”

Molly grinned at her statement, “Fucking A!”

Angel spoke up as he patted the satchel he was carrying, “Charlie and I broke into Bible’s safe. These are the records of every transaction he’s made in the last few years; the details to the kids he’s taken, where they are now and with whom. We have a LOT of nightmares to spread, and a lot of children to rescue.” He stopped and looked at his team, “And we could use all the help we can get.”

“As a team?” Snapshot asked, “Together, again?”

“If you’re willing?” Angel looked at each in turn.

“I can’t.” Panther shook her head, “I have a husband and two children.” She turned towards Molly, “But with some training, I know someone who may come in handy?”

“You couldn’t stop me!” Molly said in a serious tone, “I can’t stand by knowing what Bibles done to all those kids.”

Angel looked at Charlie, “Remind you of anyone?”

Charlie blushed. 

“I’m in.” Brute agreed. 

“So am I!” Shrapnel slid out of the jeep, and tested his leg and gave Charlie an appreciative nod.

“Count me in!” Cassie smirked.

“Wherever Cassie goes.” Snapshot winked, and was shocked when Cassie came over to him, poked his chest and then leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. He blinked, “Wha?”

Cassie turned and leaned against Snapshot, and smiled at Angel, who shook his head in amusement, “We’re in, brother.” She looked at Charlie, “Sis?”

Charlie’s features changed, and she became the hybrid demon they all knew; her eyes sparked red, her tail swished in the air and she smiled with sharp teeth. No words were needed to know she was on board. 

“Only thing now is to figure out how to get everyone out of here.” Brute scratched his chin, “I don't think my plane will fit everyone, safely. I'm stretched by about three bodies.”

“Charlie?” Angel ventured, and she turned his way, eyes raised, “How many and how far can you teleport?”

With her full memory returned, Charlie answered with full confidence, “I can take my family home.” 

“Teleport?” Panther asked.

“Just one of Charlie’s many amazing gifts.” Cassie said, and turned to kiss Snapshot again and looked him in the eyes, “Dinner, Friday night. Pick me up at six and don’t be late.”

“Wha?” Snapshot blinked as Cassie stepped away and over to Angel and Charlie. 

Angel smirked, “Yeah, buddy, I know exactly how you feel.” He looked at Brute, Panther, Snapshot and Molly, “We’ll see you on the other side of the world, my friends.”

They all nodded and watched in awe as Charlie unfurled her wings, wrapped them around herself, Cassie and Angel and disappeared in a flash of white light.

 Molly whispered, “Holy. Shit.”

“You can say that again, kid.” Brute looked at the others, “Let’s get the fuck outa here!”

Each member of the team saluted Brute, took a jeep and in a line, drove out of Bible’s compound and headed back to the airport. Mission accomplished.

 

Chapter 55: It's Time to Come Home

Summary:

I very nearly titled this chapter "Exposition" :)

Just after 3 a.m., a gentle sphere of light emerged on Cassie’s apartment rooftop as a powerful thunderstorm loomed over the French Quarter of New Orleans. The sphere grew in size and shape to take on the form of Charlie Morningstar; her wings wrapped around her, protecting Angel and Cassie within. As the light faded, she opened her wings for the two to step away. It took them only a few seconds to realize they were getting soaked as the intense downpour from the rainstorm hit them. They shrieked, dashed to the door, and crammed inside the alcove.

“The roof?” Angel laughed as he ran his hands through his hair to shake the excess water off him.

Brushing tangled, wet strands of hair out of her face, Charlie’s face scrunched up apologetically, “Um, I wasn’t sure how accurate I’d be if I tried for the apartment through walls at that distance. I figured the roof would be safer.”

“Wise move,” Angel smirked, “The shower feels good after the desert, anyway.”

“Amen to that!” Cassie chuckled and removed her cap to undo her bun.

“It’s strange, though. Now that I remember everything, I know I never had the power to teleport before I came here.” Charlie expressed in confusion, “I never had my wings, either. Or my healing ability.”

Cassie slapped her cap against her thigh, shaking the water off. “Is it possible some of your gifts result from latent abilities spawned by necessity?”

Charlie shrugged, “I guess? I mean, as a child, my parents would drive me in our limo to events or arrange for friends to visit the mansion. Once I came of age, if I wanted to visit other rings, I used the transport system in the city center.” She chuckled, “And Mom and Dad were a bit overprotective and made sure my personal imp butler, Alton, was always nearby. He was quick to attend to me if I got so much as a skinned knee.”

Angel had started down the steps but stopped and turned. “This will take some getting used to. It was one thing to believe who you are, but quite another to hear you speak of it so naturally.”

Charlie smirked and took a couple of steps until she was one above him. Then, she leaned down and pulled his chin up. “Do you doubt you’ll be able to please your princess, my knight?”

“I intend to do my best.” Angel put his foot on her step and lifted himself to press his lips to hers. They kissed deeply, firmly, and with promises that needed to be fulfilled, free of all tethers.

All but one, that is. “Get a room, you two!” Cassie’s voice hovered over them, full of humor and teasing.

Charlie blushed as they broke the kiss, having been lost in her lover’s lips, and Angel peered past her to grin at Cassie. “Snapshot?”

It was Cassie’s turn to blush. “What can I say? He got to me.”

“He’s a good man,” Angel nodded, “It’s good to see you happy, sis.”

“Same with you,” Cassie smiled. “Both of you.”

“Kevin?” Charlie’s voice was thick as her fingers traced down his arm. He saw the burning desire in her eyes. “Take me home?”

Angel took her hand and led her down the stairs.

Behind them, Cassie smirked, her joy overflowing, and followed up with another tease, “I’m going to need to wear earplugs to sleep tonight, aren’t I?”

Angel and Charlie both looked over their shoulders and, in a serious tone, together said, “Yes!”

Cassie burst out in laughter as Charlie leaned against Angel and smiled warmly.

When they reached the apartment, Cassie handed Angel the key. “Will you do the honors, Kevin?”

Angel nodded, took the key, and slipped it into the lock. Twisting it, he opened the door. “Welcome home, ladi—.”

Before he could finish his sentence, a white hand with clawed tips emerged from the darkness, seized Angel by the neck, and dragged him into the apartment. Angel gasped, his throat constricted by a firm, unyielding grip that thrust him against the wall inside. The impact shattered the mirror on the wall and knocked over the side table that held Cassie’s key bowl and photos she’d had printed of Angel and Charlie.

A thick demonic voice blasted in his face: “WHERE IS SHE!? WHERE IS MY DAU—?”

Angel suddenly felt the grip vanish, and he fell hard to the floor. He spotted Charlie in full demon form, slamming into the intruder, who responded with a shout of shocked surprise. She violently flung him across the apartment into Cassie’s liquor cabinet, shattering it and sending half a dozen liquor bottles crashing onto the tiled floor of the kitchen.

“Cha—?” The once-demonic voice now took on a more human tone as Charlie grabbed him, hoisted him over her shoulder, and hurled him onto the kitchen table. It broke in half, and he crashed down with a loud thud into the debris.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!’ Charlie let out a fierce roar, her demon form radiating fury as she brought her fists crashing down onto the intruder’s face. The torment of the previous six months, being separated from Angel and finally reclaiming her freedom to love him, only to be confronted by another demon, shattered her control. “I’M FUCKING DONE WITH YOUR SHIT, DEMON! I’M FUCKING DONE WITH ALL OF THIS! LEAVE BEFORE I RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!”

The intruder yelped as he attempted to speak, but Charlie pummeled away relentlessly. Her eyes burned crimson, and wisps of actual demon fire flared around her eyelids as tears streaked down her demon-dark skin. Though she could usually see perfectly in the dark, rage had clouded her vision. All she wanted was for this demon to be dead.

Cassie ran to the wall and flipped the light switch, illuminating the apartment. Concerned about her brother, she crouched down to see how Kevin was doing. He responded with a thumbs-up to show he was okay. They both then focused on Charlie’s struggle with the intruder.

Charlie blinked rapidly when the lights flared to life, quickly adjusting to the change. Lips curled up and fangs extended to their fullest, she glared at the intruder. When she’d pinned him, she had drawn power to her arm, forming it into the red, golden, long claws of death, ready to deliver the killing blow. But just before she struck, she recognized his face and gasped. “Dad?”

“Hey, Char-char.” The pained voice spoke with softness and love: “You got quite a punch there, princess.”

Charlie’s demon form faded as she staggered back and quickly got to her feet, dazed. The stranger rose, and Angel immediately recognized the similarities: same hair, eye color, and skin tone, with rosy cheeks. He also observed that the stranger was on the shorter side, maybe five-foot-five or six at the most.

With style, the stranger adjusted the lapel of his tailored white suit, straightened his red tie, and flicked his fingers to produce a white top hat with red trim, which he then placed atop his head. His eyes shone with affection and admiration for Charlie.

“Father?” Charlie’s voice first quavered in disbelief, but that changed when she realized he was real. “Father!” And she ran into his arms.

Angel and Cassie looked at each other as understanding slowly dawned on them. Father? Lucifer!?

Despite wincing from the beating he’d endured, Lucifer enveloped Charlie in a tight embrace. “Charlotte! I finally found you!”

“Father!” Charlie cried against his shoulder, “I’m so sorry! I lost my memories. I didn’t remember myself for the longest time!” She moved her head back to ask, “How did you find me?”

“I had been looking for you for a long time, but it wasn’t until hours ago that I felt a burst of magic coming from Earth. I quickly teleported to my good friend Stolas’s mansion and borrowed his Grimoire. I used it to travel to a strange place in the desert, but apparently, I’d just missed you. I focused on your energy, felt it reappear here, and followed. I thought you’d be in this room when I appeared.”

“I—I thought about teleporting here,” Charlie admitted. “But I chose the roof for safety.”

“I understand. Nonetheless, I found you.” Lucifer smiled warmly as he held his daughter, but his eyes turned red as he looked at Angel and Cassie. In a menacing tone, he growled, “Now release my daughter, or else!”

“Dad!” Charlie unwrapped her arms from him and stepped back, shaking her head. “I’m not bound. I broke the spell. I’m okay.”

“No.” Lucifer shook his head. “You’re still tethered to your master.”

Angel stepped boldly forward, his hands spread wide to indicate he meant no harm—not that he could harm the devil himself—and spoke with a firm declaration. “Sir. I never bound her! I swear. I found her injured in the woods months ago. I tended to her wounds, helped her recover, and she’s been assisting me ever since. It was Samedi who bound her, but we broke that binding spell.”

“Not you.” Lucifer’s voice softened as he directed his gaze to Cassie, “Her.”

“What!?” Cassie stepped back. “I never summoned her. She’s my friend!”

“Sister!” Charlie corrected her.

“Sister!” Cassie spoke boldly and stepped forward to match her brother’s position. Charlie joined them and took Cassie’s hand to show support and solidarity with her family.

Lucifer tilted his head, confused. “You didn’t make a summoning circle?”

“No.” Cassie took another step forward. “There was a boy who foolishly played with power he didn’t understand. He was trying to summon you.”

“Me?” Lucifer scratched his chin in thought. “Bold little one.”

“Yes, but he called you Satan, not Lucifer Morningstar,” Cassie added.

“Ahh.” Lucifer nodded and continued, leaning on his cane. “The child made the circle; he used the blood; hopefully, he had a talisman on him. He attempted to summon me by an incorrect name.” Lucifer scratched his chin, thoughtfully. “But because of the mess up, the magic found my daughter instead.”

“That’s what we surmised, sir,” Angel agreed.

“You said you found her injured?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see. An incomplete or misused spell could potentially toss a demon anywhere on Earth. It’s happened before. It would also explain why Charlie’s memories were trapped, as such a traumatic rip from Hell could cause mental fractures.” Lucifer explained as the pieces were starting to come together.

“And my brother found her.” Cassie swore, “All I did was give her some stones, an amulet, and try to help her regain her memories. It wasn’t until we broke Samedi’s bind on her that she remembered everything. That’s it, I swear to you!”

Lucifer saw the fear in Cassie’s eyes and offered the kindest fatherly look he could. With a gentle smile, he asked. “You found out her name?”

“Yes.” Cassie nodded firmly, “And that’s it. I failed her, otherwise.”

Charlie shook her head, squeezing her hand. “You never failed me, Cassie. Never!”

Cassie returned the hand squeeze, grateful that the devil’s daughter was by her side with the devil himself in the room.

Lucifer hummed, his eyes taking on an air of amusement. “I have a secret to share with you. No one on Earth knows what I’m about to tell you, so I ask that you never share this with anyone. Promise me?”

Charlie spoke up, “We promise.” Her tone emphasized the ‘we’.

Lucifer accepted this, seemingly eager to reveal his secret. With a showman’s presentation, he said, “This may surprise you, but all spells, incantations, prophecies, etcetera, are bound by a certain set of rules. As long as those rules are adhered to, the magic works. But here’s the fun part: how those rules are followed is… ironically… open to a few loopholes and caveats.”

Angel, Cassie, and Charlie looked at each other, confused.

Charlie asked with concern, “Father, what are you trying to say?”

“Well, as long as all the spell pieces are completed, it does its thing. But there’s no ‘rule’ stating that the same person who starts the spell has to finish it. So, dear lady?” Lucifer directed his gaze to Cassie, “I’d like to ask you a question.”

“Sir?”

“Did you happen to call my daughter by name?” Lucifer’s eyes danced, and he looked like he was bursting to share the greatest secret ever. “Did you call her Charlotte Morningstar?”

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Cassie nodded as the realization of what had happened began to set in. She looked at Charlie, who met her eyes with a sense of awe.

“And there it is.” Lucifer clapped his hands together. “While the boy’s attempt to summon me found my daughter instead, it was you, Cassie Collins, who successfully completed the binding spell when you spoke her full name.” Lucifer took a couple of steps toward Cassie, who cringed as he laid his hand gently on her shoulder. “You, my dear, are Charlie’s master.”

Cassie gasped in shock, clutching her mouth as she stumbled back. Charlie wrapped her arms around Cassie to steady her.

Lucifer stepped back to give them space, offering a gentle smile to soothe Cassie.

Angel spoke up, “Are you saying that Charlie has been bound to my sister since that morning in the kitchen days ago?”

“Yes,” Lucifer confirmed. He turned to Charlie, “May I see?”

Charlie understood what her father was asking. Kissing Cassie on the forehead, she separated from her and approached her father, “You may.”

“See?” Angel asked.

“I will see all that has happened since my daughter came here through her eyes and emotions so that I can understand everything. It’s one power some demons have, either by touch or smell.”

“That’s how Rygen was able to imitate Amanda and me and know our minds?” Angel questioned.

Lucifer shrugged. “Rygen the Devourer? He is one such demon, yes. I can answer more in a moment.” He looked at his daughter and asked, “Are you ready?”

Charlie nodded. Lucifer gently rested a hand on her forehead, and they both closed their eyes. Cassie and Angel observed a soft yellow glow enveloping their bodies for nearly thirty seconds before fading. Lucifer then let his hand fall to Charlie’s cheek, her eyes still shut but glistening with tears at the corners. “Oh, my precious child.” He traced his thumb under her eye to dry the skin. “I am so proud of you, my strong and resilient daughter.”

Sniffling, Charlie opened her eyes and smiled. “Thank you, Dad.”

Lucifer turned and addressed the siblings: “In answer to your question, Angel, yes. As a hellhound, Rygen could use his enhanced sense of smell to understand you. I am so sorry for Amanda, as well.”

“Thank you, sir.” Angel’s throat felt tight at the reminder.

Lucifer nodded once, then bowed his head to them. “I owe both of you a great debt that I fear I may never be able to repay. You saved my daughter’s life, protected her, nurtured her strengths, and helped her to discover all she could be and become even more powerful than she should be at this stage in her development.”

“Dad?”

“You are destined for so much, Char-Char, but some of what you’ve learned to do now can’t be discovered by anyone else in Hell. There are forces that would come after you because of them. I’ll have to work some magic to set things straight once we’re back home.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie’s eyes widened, though a part of her knew this was coming: “I am home! Now that I remember my life in Hell, I know there’s nothing there for me, nothing I want from it. This is my home now, Father!”

“That isn’t possible. Once I break the binding spell, Hell will call you back.” Lucifer’s voice was pained with the explanation.

“Please, Dad!” Charlie begged, “Don’t do this, please! I welcome Cassie as my master, and I love Kevin! I want to marry him and have his children! I want to live my life with him!”

“It’s not about Cassie,” Lucifer sighed. “You’re not safe here, Charlie, and if you stay, you might spark an uprising in Hell. If it’s discovered that the Princess of Hell can live on Earth freely, others will want to rise up, like sinners who’d like to come back as if they’d never died, or some of the more greedy overlords, like the Vees, will want to expand their territory and collect living souls. Then there’s the fear that others like Samedi will discover who you are and try to take you for themselves.”

“I don’t care!” Charlie fumed.

“Yes, you do, Char.” Lucifer gave her a knowing look.

Charlie growled and turned to look at Angel. “Say something, Kevin, please? Tell him you love me! Tell him you’ll protect me. We have so much to do here, so many lives to save. Don’t let him take me! I love you!”

Angel brushed her fallen hair out of her face. “I love you, too, Charlotte Morningstar.” He smiled softly, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

“No,” Charlie’s eyes pulsed red. “After all I’ve done for you? After all we’ve been through? After falling in love with you, you won’t fight for me? Why?”

“I would die for you, Charlie. I would fight Rygen again and again and face all the monsters in the world to protect you. If that’s all it was, if I could, I would.” Angel’s voice trembled, thick and sad. “But your father is right.” He felt her try to pull away, but he held her firm. “If Hell would rebel because of us, if others found out about you, we’d be putting innocent lives at stake, and two worlds would be at risk going to war.”

“Is this your fucking 4-D chess thinking shit again?” Charlie pulled away then, her voice coated with anger. She glared at him. “Can’t fucking feel with your heart? Have to make everything about strategy!?”

“Charlie!” Angel shook with sadness. “That’s not fair! You know my heart! You know I love you!”

Eyes burning red, Charlie glared at him for a moment, then hissed with demonic venom and turned on her father. “NO! I am not going back to Hell! Not after I found my heaven! Go back, father, and leave us be!”

Charlie stepped away from everyone’s touch and closed her eyes. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

“Charlie!” Angel and Lucifer both called out, but she had teleported away.

The room grew silent, and Lucifer scanned the apartment. He noticed the kitchen and the damage from the battle, ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, and awkwardly asked, “So. Got any pancakes?”

“Sir?” Angel looked lost.

Cassie came up to Angel and leaned on him. “I don’t want to lose her.”

Lucifer nodded. “I know. I saw everything. What you both did, what you all have been through. Please believe me, I would do anything for my baby girl, even let her live on Earth. But it’s impossible, and it’s good that she won’t remember any of this when she returns home.”

“What do you mean?” Cassie didn’t want to know.

“It’s part of the magic of summoning. Many times, a summoning is for a singular purpose. Some people summon demons for sexual purposes, others to amass wealth or exact revenge. But when the demon returns to Hell, it forgets it was ever summoned. It prevents them from attempting to go back and relive the joy of being liberated from Hell.”

“She’ll forget us. Me?” Angel looked unsteady.

“Yes.” Lucifer walked up to Angel and put his hand on his shoulder. “And it’s imperative that she does, as well as forget how to call up her ability to heal and her wings. If Heaven ever finds out she has angelic powers…” He stopped.

“Charlie’s an angel?” Cassie gasped.

“Did you forget what I am?” Lucifer teased softly. “Then there’s the fact that her mother was human before we fell to Hell, and she became the first demon. Charlie is unique in every way imaginable, more than a demon, angel, or human, and her destiny is too great to be living a human life on Earth. I’m sorry.”

Angel swallowed. “How long?”

“I need to gather some items from Cassie’s shop downstairs and prepare a breaking spell, which should take no more than twenty minutes, so I’ll give you thirty. Go. Find my daughter and say goodbye.”

“But she teleported,” Angel lowered his head. “I don’t know where she is.”

“I do. Remember, I can focus on her energy, and right now her energy pulse is down by the river. From her memories, I’m guessing it’s where you two talked a few days ago.”

“The gazebo!” Angel turned to his sister.

“Go!” Cassie commanded.

With a nod, Angel bolted for the door but paused at the broken table. Bending down, he grabbed one of the picture frames and removed the photo of him and Charlie. He gave his sister a quick glance, pulled the door open, and ran out as fast as he could.

Cassie sniffled, her head bowed, until she felt Lucifer step forward.

He lifted her chin. “Be strong, little lady. Come. Show me your shop.”

Cassie said, wiping her eyes, “There’s nothing left. Rygen destroyed everything.”

Lucifer smiled, took Cassie’s hand, and led her to the door. “Let’s go have a look.”

He led her down the stairs and through the broken door. Cassie halted just before crossing the threshold, her eyes locked on the spot where Davis had been killed. Lucifer released her hand. “He’s in heaven,” Lucifer addressed her hesitation, “and very happy.”

“You promise?” Cassie asked hopefully.

“You have my word,” Lucifer affirmed.

“And Amanda?” Cassie had to know.

Her question gave Lucifer pause, and Cassie quickly surmised the answer, “No.”

“Hell isn’t anything like your human world wants you to believe, my dear; not all sinners suffer. Not all sinners are unhappy with their place in Hell. I can’t tell you any more than that.

“Please, sir,” Cassie pleaded, “is she alright?”

Sighing, Lucifer nodded. “You do not have to worry about her.”

Cassie accepted that he would not say anything more about Amanda. She sighed as she looked around her devastated store. “As you can see. There’s nothing left to salvage.”

“Hmmm, let’s see what we can do about that.” Lucifer winked at Cassie, raised his cane, and pointed toward the middle of the room. “Check out this little magic number!”

Atop Lucifer’s cane, a red apple crafted from precious metal began to glow, and a stunning rainbow of lights erupted, sending waves cascading throughout the entire shop. Previously charred and burned books, now seemingly unharmed, floated back into place on the shelves. Crystals and amulets reconstructed themselves from their broken fragments. Incenses reformed and gathered into the various jars and displays they had occupied. The melted paint on the wall returned to its original state, and she watched in amazement as the shop restored itself to what it had been before Rygen’s arson attack.

“I—” Cassie stuttered. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, kiddo.” Lucifer walked into the center of the shop and surveyed his surroundings. As he absorbed the atmosphere of the shop, he remarked, “Your place is beautiful.” He picked up an amulet from the display, admiring it. “And powerful.”

“Thank you.” Cassie said numbly, then suddenly thought: “The police will be back for an investigation. I can’t explain this.”

“I’m the King of Hell, dear,” Lucifer spoke without a hint of humility. “As far as anyone knows, your shop was never damaged.” His tone shifted to one of sympathy. “I’m sorry that’s all I can do.”

“Thank you,” Cassie repeated. The silent reminder of Davis flooded her with a new wave of sadness.

Lucifer nodded kindly and went about collecting all the items he would need. In a few minutes, he returned, placed everything on the counter, and sat on the stool opposite Cassie. As he arranged everything in order of use, Cassie shook her head. “I’m still confused.”

“About?” Lucifer raised his gaze and inquired while he kept preparing things.

“Everything?” Cassie sighed. “If I’m Charlie’s master, why didn’t we know? It’s not like I gave orders and she obeyed me, like a bound demon would. I’d have noticed something!”

“But you did.” Lucifer shook his head. “Having peeked into my daughter’s mind, I witnessed the past six months instantly, and I believe I can explain things fairly easily.”

“Okay?” Cassie bit her lip, both curious and trepidatious.

“Alright. So, to recap, the boy in West Virginia tried to summon me but got my first name wrong. Still, the magic sought out the Morningstar name, reaching my daughter first. That’s something I have to look into, since it doesn’t make sense to me.” Appearing unfazed, he continued, “Now, since the summoning was skewed, the trip was devastating to Charlie’s body and mind. Her powers were unaffected, but her knowledge of them was. So, it took time for her to evolve, so to speak. Over the months, as she and Angel saved all those children, they bonded. She found confidence in herself, and her powers grew exponentially.” As he spoke, Lucifer began opening the vials of powder, sprinkling each one into an intricate design on the counter. “Then, on the night they almost fucked…”

“Sir!” Cassie scolded.

“Well, they almost did.” Lucifer chuckled. “I’m from Hell, kiddo; we aren’t very subtle.”

“Sir,” Cassie said again, her voice firm. “Show your daughter respect.”

Lucifer’s smile faded, but his tone remained calm: “I respect my daughter and her choices more than anyone ever could. Do you want me to explain, or not?”

“I do.” Cassie chose not to apologize, and Lucifer acknowledged it with a nod.

“After Angel’s rejection, Charlie resolved to discover her true self and sought your guidance. You attempted to assist her with crystals and the amulet, which ultimately protected her from Samedi’s spell.” he smiled at Cassie, “Clever girl, by the way. Then you discovered who she truly was.”

“Charlotte Morningstar.”

“Correct. When you called her by her full name, you completed the ritual, and she became your demon.”

“I never felt anything.” Cassie tried to remember the details of that morning.

“Sure, you did. When Charlie reacted, you felt the air crackle with energy, and her body changed ever so slightly. Angel even remarked that her eyes had changed. You had summoned my Charlie, as she was always supposed to be. The only problem left was her memories. Something you could easily have fixed.”

“How?”

Lucifer smirked. “You were her master; you controlled all that she was. All you needed to say was, ‘Charlie, I want you to remember everything.’ It’s really quite amusing to me that there were a couple of moments where you very nearly said the right phrase to unlock her memories, but Charlie interrupted you both times.”

Cassie ventured a guess: “And when I ordered her from the apartment while I was attending Angel?”

“She left without a word.”

“The training to fight Rygen…”

“She was enraged with you, but you ordered her to defend against your attacks. Once she saw what you were trying to do, she naturally followed. ”

“When she tried to run off to find Angel after Samedi kidnapped him?” Cassie looked around the shop, lost in memory.

“You shouted for her to stop, and she did. Same in the compound when you ordered her to stand down. She did so without arguing because you held dominion over her. I believe it’s because of the trust and love you shared that it never felt like a dominant or submissive role to either of you.”

“Holy shit.” Cassie dropped her eyes, the impact of these realizations rocking her soul.

“And when you commanded her to remember who she was, as you used your magic to activate the powders and break Samedi’s spell, she regained all her memories.” Lucifer smiled, “Charlie was bound to you, Cassie; she was your demon to command, almost from the day you met her. That power was greater than Samedi’s binding, as it was the first to take her. Additionally, her willingness to accept your commands, even if she didn’t realize it, ultimately saved her. There’s power in love, you know?”

Cassie nodded without a word. She’d given her brother the exact same advice.

Lucifer worked to inscribe the spell: “But when the two bindings mixed, it released something locked away inside of Charlie. Something I’d never felt before until I peeked into her mind. Understand this: she’s Lilith’s daughter and mine. A heaven-borne angel and a human turned demon—that hybrid form comes with a few complications. She is capable of becoming something far more dangerous than Heaven, Hell, or Earth could ever contend with.”

“That thing. What was it?” Cassie asked.

“I don’t exactly know,” Lucifer admitted. “However, I plan to discuss this with Lilith upon our return.” He shook his head, concerned, but let it go for now. “I do know that I won’t let Charlie remember that part about her. She is not ready for it. It’s another reason she can’t stay here.”

“But, sir! Angel and Charlie belong together. They are one soul in two bodies.” Cassie leaned forward. “She’s your daughter, part angel, and Kevin’s human. Why can’t they be together?”

“If it were as simple as that, my dear Cassie, I’d welcome Angel as a son-in-law. But it’s not,” Lucifer sighed. “All I can do is let you both remember her and cherish the time you had with her, and while Heaven is fucking strict about erasing earthly ties, I might have a little say in that, if necessary.”

“We would protect her.” Cassie promised, “I would protect her!”

“With your new power?” Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “The power Charlie gave you?”

“What?”

“You’ve been growing your power for a long time, Cassie. However, your power was still muted by earthly limitations. Crystals, powders, and spells bound to objects. Nothing like what you did in Libya.” Lucifer stopped working the spell, put his elbow on the counter, and scratched his chin. “See, almost all summonings are for one purpose: to use a demon for the benefit of the master. In all those cases, the demon fights the control, and occasionally they do break free. However, the key point is that there is no consensus, or “union,” between the two entities.” He looked at the spell and added a touch of powder to a thinner area as he continued, “But you and my daughter? You bonded and became ‘family’. Therefore, Charlie shared her power with you, even though she was unaware of it. You may have noticed that, by coincidence, you both adopted some similar mannerisms.”

Cassie bit her lip, trying to think of an example, and Lucifer smirked at her action. “Just like that. The point is, you absorbed a little bit of demon magic, and it unlocked the true nature of your power within.”

With her fingers on her lips, Cassie’s eyes blinked. “Am I a demon, now?”

Lucifer laughed with genuine glee and kindness, “Oh, no, not at all. But, my dear, you are a real witch now. And there is still so much within you to be discovered. Know, though, that when Charlie goes home, that bond ends, and you will have to train hard to call that power up again.” He looked at the spell, which was now laid out on the counter, complete and ready. He picked up a black candle and handed it to Cassie. “We’re ready.”

“I’m not.” Cassie shook her head.

“Yes,” Lucifer said, taking her hand and kissing the knuckles. “You are. It has been a wonderful pleasure to meet you, Cassandra Elizabeth Collins. To meet Angel. Charlie may not remember you, but I will. And I plan to keep an eye on both of you. If I ever feel you need divine help, I will repay my debt to you.” Lucifer stepped away from the counter and bowed his head slightly. “Now, speak the spell.”

Cassie wiped her eyes and lit the candle as she spoke softly, reciting the spell. “Dimitto te, Charlotte Morningstar. Revertere ad dominium tuum in pace.” She pressed the fiery wick against the powders, which ignited instantly.

Cassie raised her free arm to protect her eyes as the powders erupted in a brilliant blaze of magical fire that surged toward the ceiling. Once the heat from the flames diminished, she dropped her arm and found herself alone in the shop.

“Goodbye, dear sister.” Cassie’s voice cracked. All her strength faded as she dropped her head to the counter and cried in painful silence.

Notes:

Not often I leave notes.

When it came to why Charlie lost her memories and how she got them back, I didn't have a clear idea of how to resolve this until probably close to the time I wrote this chapter. Then I realized I had laid so many clues and only needed to go back and insert a couple of words here or there to enhance those clues. When I saw the solution, all the pieces fell into place and turned into an M. Night Shyamalan level twist.

Lucifer's ability to see Charlie's adventure gave him insight that pretty much let me, the writer, explain just about everything the reader may have missed through Lucifer's exposition of the basic plot. I thought myself a wee clever, there.

Chapter 56: Wait For Me to Come Home

Bursting out of Cassie’s apartment, Angel dashed down the staircase, out the side door, and into the torrential rain, narrowly avoiding a trash can beside the store. Swearing, he shoved it aside and sprinted off, sometimes sliding on the slick cobblestones as his boots splashed through a chaotic assortment of puddles. Swearing, he shoved it aside and sprinted off, sometimes sliding on the slick cobblestones as his boots splashed through a chaotic assortment of puddles.

Lucifer had granted him just thirty minutes to find Charlie, and if she were indeed at the Gazebo as he said, it would take him almost ten minutes to get there. So he ran, ran with his heart beating painfully against his chest. Ran with eyes blinded by tears and falling rain. Ran with the desperation to apologize for not standing up for her the way she’d stood up for him. Ran with the impossible idea he could stop her from leaving.

In under eight minutes, he reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Gazebo and paused. Resting his hands on one of the yellow poles, he struggled to catch his breath, feeling lightheaded. Although Charlie had physically healed him just over an hour ago, fatigue was beginning to settle in from everything he had endured. So, he sacrificed thirty seconds of the rest of his life with Charlie, taking deep breaths and hating every tick he lost.

Clenching his teeth, Angel pushed himself upright feet and jogged up the stairs to the top, where he spotted the Gazebo about thirty yards away. Despite the heavy rain, the dim light from a few nearby lamp posts illuminated Charlie, standing under the structure. With her back to him and arms wrapped tightly around herself, she seemed to be staring into the darkness.

He ran again, ran for her, and let her name pass between his lips. He knew she’d hear him, “Charlie?”

Angel observed her body move as she turned. Even though he couldn’t see her face from afar, her posture showed the depth of her pain. He felt it himself. After what felt like an eternity, Angel finally entered the Gazebo, escaping the heavy rain. He wiped his brow, slicked back his drenched hair, and slowly approached her.

Charlie mirrored his approach, but in reverse, retreating until her back pressed against the pillar at the Gazebo’s edge. Resting her head back against it, she lifted her chin and squeezed her eyes shut as sobs wracked her body. Angel closed the distance and wrapped her in his arms, causing her to break down completely.

He held her as tightly as possible, trying to shield her from the impending magic that would soon take her. He buried his face in her hair, “I’m so sorry! You were right; I should have defended you. I should have told your father how much you mean to me.”

Charlie shook her head against him. “No. No, you’re right. You and Dad. Deep down, I know I can’t stay.” She sobbed again, “I recognized it the moment I arrived here, and I regret running away.” She hiccuped, “Daddy’s taking me home, and I wasted our time on a temper tantrum? I’m such an idiot!”

“Then why didn’t you just come back?” He croaked out.

“Because I’m an idiot?” Her hoarse, pain-filled voice broke with a mirthless laugh. “And I was weak. I don’t know if I can bear to see your face when you watch me fade. I don’t want to hurt you anymore!”

“Look at me!” Angel demanded.

Charlie obeyed, her eyes streaked red, not from her power but from pain no soul should ever endure.

“I’m making you a promise, Charlotte Morningstar. When I die, I’m coming for you!” Angel swore.

“How!?” Charlie’s voice cracked. “You’re an angel, Kevin, and Heaven’s where you’ll go.”

“Then I’ll find a way to escape it,” Angel growled and swore an oath. “I found my redemption because of you. I regained my faith. Because of you! If I’m worthy of Heaven? Worthy of reward? Then the only reward I desire is to be at your side, even if it’s in Hell!”

“You’d give up eternal peace for me?” Charlie’s eyes welled up again.

“I’d sell my soul for you, Charlotte Morningstar!”

Charlie’s face crinkled up, the ache breaking her, but she gave him a loving, scolding look. “It’s Charlie, remember?”

Angel responded by passionately kissing Charlie, pressing her against the pillar, and embracing her as their kisses intensified amidst the storm’s fury. Lighting flashed across the sky, illuminating the lovers against the cold black background.

As their passion intensified, Charlie pushed Angel backward, causing them to fall to the ground. Quickly, she positioned herself on top of him, leaning down to capture his lips with hers. There, they surrendered to the experience, oblivious to everything around them.

Angel’s hands slid beneath her T-shirt, grasping her smooth, wet skin, causing her to gasp and bite his earlobe. They let a few minutes of silent passion fill their souls until Angel twisted his body and pinned Charlie beneath him.

She felt the cold ground against her back, but it only added to the sensations as Angel’s hot body pressed against her. Spreading her legs, she felt him against her, and cried regret in her heart that she couldn’t take him as she so needed, right then and there. Instead, she drowned herself in his lips, the feel of his hands on her, and reciprocated by wrapping her arms around him.

When he broke their kiss, he looked at her with such desire and need that she almost repeated her trick from the other morning, just so she could feel him inside her one last time. But before she could, he moved away, lifting off her and standing. He held his hand out, and she took it; with his help, she got to her feet.

Reaching into his pocket, Angel pulled out the photo he’d taken from the apartment. “Do you think you can take this with you?”

Charlie nodded as she felt Angel slip the photo into the pocket of her ripped blue jeans. The intimacy of his hands near her center caused her to flush and ache with the knowledge that she would never feel him there again. She pulled him against her and kissed him deeply. When they parted for air, Charlie drew back from their embrace and held a finger to his lips to still him. “I have something for you, too.”

She reached behind her neck, unclasped her amulet’s chain, and pulled it from her soaked black cotton T-shirt. She placed it firmly in his hands, worried it might vanish with her. “Keep this for me? To remember me?”

“Charlie.” Angel found it increasingly difficult to speak. His head throbbed with pain from the tears streaming down his face. He took the amulet and, with Charlie’s help, clasped it around his neck. Neither of them could find any other words, not that they were any more important than the desperate desire to taste each other. Charlie wrapped her arms around Angel’s neck and kissed him hard.

As their kisses grew more passionate, Angel felt the sting of her sharp teeth clip his bottom lip. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Charlie’s pupils had changed, but there was no anger, only lust that had called forth her demon form.

Realizing her shift, Charlie quickly broke the kiss, her face reflecting fright, reminiscent of the first night she’d transformed when she had feared he would flee from her. Angel’s eyes, however, showed only intense desire, and he responded by firmly pressing his mouth against hers, allowing her teeth to graze him once more.

He felt her hands, with clawed fingers, pull at his back as if to swallow him whole. The sensation of her sharp nails sent a tingling thrill all through his body, causing his arousal to rise in his soaked jeans. He knew he would gladly be her sacrifice if it meant he could return to Hell with her.

When they broke the kiss, Charlie’s eyes crinkled with apology at the sight of blood welling on Angel’s lips, but he smiled and reached up, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back to him once more. The tug was rough, almost violent. It hurt, and she loved it.

She gasped as he pressed his lips, slick with rainwater, tears, and blood, against her neck and bit her. He bit her to assert dominance over her and sucked her skin between his lips. Charlie’s demon voice spilled out in pure lust, reveling at the thrill of submitting to him, her horns and tail sprouting forth with the pleasures her soul was experiencing.

Swallowed up by the fervent moment, Angel grabbed one of her horns, twisting her head to the side so he could ravage her throat, leaving his mark on her, then began to trail his lips downward. Charlie knew what he wanted and grabbed the hem of her shirt and tore it open, allowing him to reach her breasts, while she wrapped her tail around his waist. Her gaze locked with his as he nipped at her breasts, bringing forth a low rumble of ecstasy from her throat.

It seemed as if they’d escaped to a place where they could forever be intertwined, but the moment was stolen away when Charlie’s eyes widened, and the gasp Angel heard escape between her quivering lips was not one of lust but of fear.

Lifting his face to hers, he brushed his hand along her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Her red eyes widened. “Cassie said the words.” She shook her head vigorously in disbelief. Not now! “Angel!? " she cried, gripping him frantically. “I don’t want to go!”

Pressing her forehead firmly against hers, he held her arms in his hands and whispered against her ear. “Be strong, my Princess of Hell! I love you!”

As the invisible magics began to swell up from the ground and pull at her, Charlie cursed at them. She would not let this last moment end in any other way than how she determined. With all the control she could muster, Charlie unfurled her wings one final time, encircling them both, shielding them from the world, and they fell together to their knees.

With a brave smile and a last sniff, she lifted her face to his, and their eyes met. “I’m holding your promise in my heart, Kevin. I will wait for you, for eternity if I have to!”

The magic enveloped her, causing her body to shimmer. Her time had come. In a rush, Charlie Morningstar kissed her Angel one last time, managing to whisper three final words that faded away with her body: “I love you.”

And then she was gone.

The storm’s fierce winds drove the heavy rain almost sideways, pelting the Gazebo and drenching Angel entirely. But he didn’t care. He remained on his knees, resting one hand on the ground where the love of his life had been just moments earlier. With closed eyes, he pleaded, “Wait for me to come home.”

Notes:

Only a couple of times in this story did I replace the old with the new from V2 - this being one of them - the old version was too short, too bare, to be worthy of existing anymore and thus this chapter and the chapter in V2 are now identical.

Chapter 57: Welcome Home, Angel

Cassie's Apartment

Cassie looked at her cup of tea, which had cooled while she’d been staring into it for the last hour. She had returned to her apartment in a daze and saw that Lucifer’s magic had reached it. Everything was back in place, and it only made her feel more pain, reminding her that she’d never see Charlie again. A soft sound of her front door opening brought her eyes up to Angel, soaked to the core, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him. He fell against the door, laid his head back, and had a blank stare of loss on his face. Cassie pushed herself up from the chair and stepped around the table. Each step she took was quicker than the last until she fell into her brother’s arms and pulled him into her embrace. Angel’s body shook along with Cassie’s as they wept in silence, together.

---

Charlie's Bedroom in Hell

Lucifer sat on the edge of Charlie’s bed in her room at their mansion, eyes closed, and waited quietly. He had returned here as the magic fire flared from the breaking spell and prepared to receive his daughter. In moments, there was a ripple of strong magic, and Charlie appeared out of a bright red glow of energy. Her eyes darted around the room, a look of confusion drawn across her features, and she saw Lucifer sitting on the bed.

“Dad? What happ...” 

Before she finished her question, Lucifer flicked his fingers, Charlie’s eyes closed, and, in a trance like state, she came to the edge of the bed. Lucifer flicked his fingers yet again, and in place of her soaked black T-shirt, red jacket, and ripped blue jeans, Charlie, now dry, wore her usual red pajamas with black and white trim. Lucifer stood, pulled back the bed sheets, and helped Charlie crawl into bed. 

Once she was settled, he tucked her in and kissed her forehead. “Sleep, my princess, and dream of the world you once lived in, let the love you felt for Angel guide your destiny.” He paused, and added, “And, should he ever appear before you again, remember him.”

Lucifer walked over to Charlie’s desk, where she loved to draw and where her earth clothes now lay, neatly folded. He noticed the tip of the picture that Angel had given her poke out of the edge of the jeans pocket as he picked them up. He pulled it out and examined it. Lucifer’s smile wavered as he traced his finger along the lines of Charlie’s face, saw how genuinely happy she had been, and felt regret for the decision he had to make. Lucifer tucked the photo into his breast pocket, walked to the bedroom door and looked back at his daughter. “Welcome home, princess.”

---

The Hazbin Hotel - Present

 

Within the hotel, the night stretched on, filled with sadness as Angel and Charlie recounted the final part of their tale to the group. The emotional toll of revisiting those memories had left them too exhausted to continue speaking. The silence in the lobby felt nearly as deafening as one of Cherri Bomb’s explosions.

Charlie leaned against the wall with her arms folded around her. Her head was bowed, and her blonde hair, now without ties, fell over her face, concealing her tears. However, her trembling shoulders revealed that she was quietly crying.

Angel stood solemnly, exhausted, yet kept his eyes focused on the group, uncomfortably awaiting whatever might be said by any of them, especially Vaggie. The tension he experienced rivaled any of the wars he’d fought, and for a moment, he wished he were somewhere else.

Breaking the silence, Husker—the toughest cat of them all—wiped a single tear from his eyes. “Holy. Shit.”

Vaggie appeared completely taken aback by the story and was still absorbing everything when she noticed Charlie’s posture. She shifted her focus to Angel, who mirrored Charlie’s stance, though he was gazing back at her. He looked prepared for her evaluation and decision.

As she rose from her chair, capturing everyone’s attention, Vaggie adjusted her skirt, feeling unexpectedly anxious despite not being the center of focus all evening. She knew they were curious about her next move, and it was time to resolve everything once and for all.

Walking over to Charlie, Vaggie leaned in and whispered so quietly that no one else could make out what she was saying. A soft, imperceptible sob caught in Charlie’s throat as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to still the tears that began to seep from the corners of her eyes. Another sob wracked her chest, prompting Charlie to turn away in embarrassment, but Vaggie wasn’t having it.

She held Charlie’s chin with delicate, lavender-toned fingers and gently guided her back. With her other hand resting on the back of Charlie’s head, she pressed her lips to the princess’s quivering mouth. The kiss lasted for five full seconds, and when they parted, Charlie broke down and cried into Vaggie’s shoulder. They embraced for a couple of minutes while everyone sat and waited.

Finally, Vaggie whispered, “I think Angel’s waiting for my verdict. Should I go tell him?”

Charlie nodded softly, her voice just barely a whisper. “Please?”

They separated. Placing her hand on Charlie’s shoulder, Vaggie gave it a quick squeeze, then walked over to stand in front of Angel.

When she stopped before him, he darted his eyes away, suddenly shy. It seemed as if he wanted to spread his wings and get the hell out of Dodge. Vaggie folded her arms and cleared her throat, demanding his full attention. He shifted his gaze to meet hers, tensing up as she opened her arms and placed her hands on his cheeks.

Angel’s eyes widened as Vaggie once again rose onto her toes and—amid the soft gasps surrounding them—pressed her lips against his. This kiss was much more chaste than the one she’d bestowed on Charlie, yet its meaning was unmistakable: she’d forgiven him. She lingered for a moment, savoring the taste of his lips, before pulling away to assess him. Angel blinked, and the surprise evident on his face amused Vaggie. A lot.

“Kevin Angelus Collins.” Vaggie’s voice was firm yet tender. “Thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for saving Charlie’s life. Then, and now.” She grasped his hands, “I forgive you. I forgive both of you for what happened on the battlefield.” She glanced over her shoulder at Charlie and said, “I don’t blame you for kissing Charlie. Hell! I’d probably have done the same thing in your shoes.”

“Vaggie?” Charlie’s voice quivered uncertainly.

She walked back over to Charlie, smiled, and embraced her. “You two shared so much. I am so sorry for how much it hurt you to be taken from him.”

Charlie sniffled. “That night nearly killed me, Vaggie, and worst of all, I couldn’t even heal properly.” She looked at her father, her eyes reflecting a hint of anger but mainly regret, while Lucifer shifted awkwardly in his seat.

“Maybe now you can,” Vaggie whispered to Charlie, gently nudging her cheek with her own. Charlie nudged her back, tears smearing on their shared faces.

Angel massaged his right fist with his left hand. The air was thick, and for the moment, he was unsure he wanted to draw more attention to himself. But there were still questions that needed answers.

So, taking a deep breath, he spoke up, “There is something I’m at a loss about. Something that has been bothering me since that day on my balcony in Heaven.”

He took a deep breath. Now that everyone was staring at him again, his awkwardness as an outsider returned with full force: “I’d forgotten everything about Charlie and my time on Earth, just as Sera had said I would. It wasn’t until after I confronted Sera and voiced my discontent about how Charlie had been treated in court that Charlie’s amulet triggered my memories. How? And how did I even have the amulet in Heaven? Emily said it was unusual for anyone to bring something with them when they died.”

From his chair, Lucifer cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. He shrugged with a smile. “Yeah, about that. I had a little something to do with it.”

“Dad?” Charlie approached him, “What did you do?”

“Well, when you shared your memories with me, I could feel all your emotions. Fear, pain, happiness, and most importantly, your love for him. It reminded me of how much I love your mother, and although I had to take you home, it wasn’t without regret.”

Charlie nodded silently.

Lucifer directed his attention to Angel, “I sensed something special about you, my boy. I knew you’d find your way back to Charlie if given the chance. After all, you promised her. Sooo.” How he paused and smiled reminded Angel of the night they met in the apartment. He really enjoyed the flair for the dramatic: “I took all those memories that Charlie shared with me and slipped them into her amulet.”

“Wait.” Vaggie’s tone was suspicious. “How did you know she’d give it to him?”

“Easy, Maggie.” Lucifer soothed his voice to calm her growing temper. “The only thing I did was add a little bit of suggestive magic into the spell, so she felt compelled to give him the amulet.”

Vaggie didn’t like her girlfriend being manipulated and cursed under her breath. “¡No te metas con su mente!”

She felt Charlie’s hand on her shoulder and looked at her. “It’s okay, Vaggie. He’s right. If Kevin didn’t get the amulet, he’d never have remembered me, or helped us stop Adam.”

Vaggie didn’t look wholly convinced but eased off for her girlfriend’s sake.

Lucifer continued, “When I crafted the spell, I didn’t consider that Charlie might fall in love with someone here. I intended for the amulet to work gradually, so that Angel would remember you in time. Not all at once, and as painfully as it did.”

“So what activated it so suddenly, then?” Angel asked, confused.

“The moment you decided you were going to help Charlie against Adam, even though you didn’t know her, was when the true you resurfaced; the angel who’d fought to protect the innocent. You broke Heaven’s influence for serenity and meditation over you; in essence, you were reborn. Your promise to Charlie, to protect her, activated the spell.”

“I’m not sure I understand completely,” Shaking his head, Angel sighed, “But I’ve never fully understood magic, anyway.” He paused briefly, then asked, “But it still doesn’t explain how I could keep the amulet Charlie gave me after I died.”

“Ah, yes.” Lucifer rubbed his chin. “That is a fun little mystery, is it not?”

“Sir, respectfully,” Angel said with a slight smirk, “skip the theatrics?”

Lucifer pursed his lips in a playful pout, “But I don’t get to do this very often.”

“Dad!” Charlie sighed loudly, “Please! We’re exhausted enough, already.”

“Fine.” He chuckled, “There are only a few times in all of history that a human soul arrives in Heaven, or Hell, carrying something that they had on them at the time of their death. And that’s because those items came from Heaven, originally.”

Everyone’s gaze turned from Lucifer to Angel, who held out the amulet. “This is Heaven made?”

“It is,” Lucifer confirmed. “I’d wager one of the Heaven-born angels might have been responsible for it reaching Earth in the first place. They’ve been known to drop ‘gifts’ from time to time. Experiments of sorts. Amulets, magic, etc. It’s generally frowned upon, but Heaven-born tend to be a bit eccentric.”

“I see.” Angel wondered if any of Cassie’s other magics came from Heaven. As he tucked those thoughts away, another concern arose. “Can I ask why you were not here when the battle began?”

“The contract with Heaven was exclusive to sinners. No demon kind was allowed to be harmed. This included Imps, Goetia, Hellhounds, among the various Hell born denizens, including my daughter. Only two things could terminate the contract’s binding: Adam or his army killing any of the forbidden citizens, or if someone in a position of power nullified the agreement by asking me to interfere. Which you did when you summoned me.”

Charlie appeared bewildered. “You mean Angel was the reason you were able to interfere and kick Adam’s ass?”

“Yes,” Lucifer said simply.

“That explains everything but my memories.” Charlie prompted him.

Lucifer understood and answered, “I know you’re upset with me for forcing you to return to Hell, but you know why I had to. But it didn’t mean I wasn’t looking out for you. When you returned home, I whispered a spell that if you ever saw him again, either in Heaven or Hell, you’d remember everything so you two could fall in love again.” Lucifer bowed his head toward Vaggie, “which at the time seemed an obvious decision.”

“You never thought Charlie would find other love?” Vaggie asked. Her demeanor had calmed considerably, and she asked the question sincerely out of curiosity.

“It was a calculated risk.” Lucifer admitted, “There’s something about him that deserves a chance. I’m sorry it caused such heartache for you, Vaggie.”

She noticed he had used her name correctly, genuinely understood her feelings for Charlie, and never intended to hurt her or anyone else. He was only focused on his daughter’s happiness, just like she was.

With a respectful nod, she accepted his explanation. “I understand, and…” She looked at Angel. “I agree with you. There is something unique about him.”

Angel shuffled his feet uncomfortably at the attention, which amused Vaggie even more. Such a gentleman he was.

Lucifer smiled warmly, then lifted his hand and flicked his wrist. The photograph Angel had given Charlie that night appeared in his hand: “I even kept this to return to you when it was time.” He held it out to Charlie.

Charlie stepped up to her father and accepted the photo. As she gazed at the photo, the sight of her and Angel smiling made her heart swell, bringing back fond memories of that day. Leaning down, she kissed Lucifer on the cheek. “Thank you, Dad.”

Charlie returned to Vaggie, leaned against her, and showed her the photo. Vaggie could see the love between them and felt no jealousy; instead, she recognized that Charlie’s life had moments of joy amidst the pain. Gently, she traced her finger over the photo and smiled at Charlie.

Vaggie then turned to Angel and gestured for him to join them. Hesitantly, he stepped closer, careful not to touch either of them. Vaggie chuckled, wrapped her arm around his waist, and pulled him closer, bringing all three together.

He looked at her, and she exhaled with humorous exaggeration, “Such a gentleman.”

Charlie bit her lip and whispered in Vaggie’s ear. Vaggie nodded and let go of her so she could step around to stand on Angel’s other side. Vaggie felt his body relax when Charlie nuzzled against him, and he slipped his arm around her waist, mirroring Vaggie’s arm around his.

“I have a question?” Angel Dust spoke up for the first time.

He turned pointedly to Angel: “What happened with you and your team after Charlie left?” Angel Dust’s face softened with the additional question, “How did you die?”

Charlie’s eyes darted to his. Those questions had been burning in her mind from the moment she first saw him. He had politely declined to tell her when she’d asked, but now she hoped he’d share.

Angel slowly exhaled, “I promised Charlie I would tell her when the time was right.” He looked at her, asking for patience. “But let me explain something else first.”

Charlie nodded while Angel looked around the room at everyone. “I knew that—even with my team’s skills—we’d be overwhelmed with all the children that needed saving without Charlie with us. I called up Amanda’s boss, and we shared our grief over her death. I told him what I had and what I needed. We got the attention of some people in Congress who helped pass a bill to fund the FBI’s new special task force, exclusive to the rescue of endangered children all over the US. My team, Brute, Shrapnel, Snapshot, Chatterbug, and Spiderbite, however, was tasked with international missions to find all the missing children Bible had taken.”

“Spiderbite?” Charlie’s eyes perked up. “Molly?”

“Yup!” Angel smirked. “She turned eighteen just a few weeks after returning home, and Panther mentored her through boot camp. Kid’s amazing. Panther calls her Spiderbite because she never minces words and is exceptionally adept with my trank guns. Though Molly didn’t like the name at first.”

“Why not?” Charlie smirked.

Angel chuckled softly at the memory, “Because, as brave as that kid is, she’s terrified of spiders. Maybe as much as I am about bats.”

From across the room, Angel Dust’s lips twisted into a small smile, a fond look in his eyes.

Charlie’s eyes sparkled with warmth and love upon discovering that her extended family was doing well.

Angel continued, “Anyway, we spent the next three years clearing out the cache we found in Bible’s safe. And because I know you’ll ask, we saved almost all of them.”

“Most.” Charlie’s lips fell, “But not all.”

“We knew from the start we wouldn’t.” Angel squeezed her waist, “So we kept our heads up for the ones we could.”

Sniffling, Charlie wiped her nose, nodding in agreement.

“It was maybe a week after we saved the last girl that I had to return home.”

“Why?” Charlie bit her lip, sensing she knew the answer, already.

Angel actually chuckled. “It’s kinda funny, really. I fought wars in the army, chased molesters and monsters to save children, nearly got killed by a demon, and met the devil himself.” He winked at Lucifer, “But in the end? It wasn’t a bullet, a knife, or even a hellhound that did me in. It was cancer.”

“Oh, my.” This came from Niffty.

Charlie reached out and grabbed his hand.

“It’s okay,” Angel reassured her. “You helped me find redemption, and I was at peace by then.” He switched his gaze to look at everyone, “What Charlie and I fought for would continue with my team and so many others, and once I was diagnosed, Cassie, Trevor, and I returned to New Orleans, where I spent my last few months. I passed peacefully just a couple of days after my thirty-eighth birthday.”

The room went silent as everyone processed his confession in their own way. Charlie moved to embrace Kevin, and Vaggie joined. The two women held Angel close, prompting him to swallow to avoid shedding any more tears.

It wasn’t merely the moment weighing on him; it was the next step that shattered his heart once more. This was not his desire, but it was his only option. He shifted his body, quietly signaling for the girls to move aside.

When they did, he took a deep breath and spoke, “I want to thank all of you for tolerating me for this past month and having the patience to wait so Charlie and I could explain ourselves. You’ve been gracious beyond reproach, and it means a lot to me.

Everyone, except Alastor, responded positively, smiling and nodding to Angel.

“But now?” He looked at Charlie, grieving, “It’s time for me to go.”

“Go?” Charlie gasped. “Why?”

Angel looked at Vaggie rather than Charlie. “I am grateful that you’ve forgiven me, Vaggie. Thank you for giving me some time to be with Charlie. But my time was in the past. Now, and the future, belong to the two of you.”

Charlie’s eyes looked panicked. She had lost Angel once, and now she was about to lose him again? Her heart shattered, and she froze, her voice quavering. “Angel?”

Angel cast his sad eyes on her. “Charlie. I promised you I’d come home to you. I stayed true to my promise, believing you would be free and waiting for me. If I knew you were already happy—” he swallowed painfully, “I did not intend to get into the middle of—or break up—your relationship with Vaggie. Your father has offered me a position in his administration, which I’ll take until I figure out if Heaven will accept me back.”

Vaggie took a step to stand by Charlie. Her gaze was firm. “No.”

Angel looked stunned, “Vaggie, I can’t st—”

Vaggie held up a hand and cut him off. “Listen. What you two had—what you did for Charlie? I can’t ignore that or deny it. It feels so familiar to how Charlie found me when I had fallen. How she helped me, saved me, and how much I love her for it—how much our love has grown over the years because of it. I know how it felt for a moment to have lost her when I saw you two kiss, thinking I was losing her to you.” Catching her breath, she continued, “But as I listened to your story, I felt the way Charlie felt. The bond you two had—have.” Vaggie paused and kissed Charlie softly. She saw the fear in her demon lover’s eyes and smiled reassuringly. Tucking her hair back behind her ear, she gave Angel a pointed look. “There’s power in that bond—that love—and it was love that we fought with and won. I think we’d be even more powerful if you stayed here with us.”

Angel shook his head, confused. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“First things first.” Vaggie’s expression was serious, as was her voice: “Charlie’s my girlfriend. I love her more than anything, and I won’t ever give her up.” Vaggie’s expression softened, giving way to a smile and eyes filled with endearing fondness. Angel’s heart skipped a beat, acutely aware of the direction she might take with her words, but what she said next still stunned him. “But it doesn’t mean I can’t share.”

“I…” Angel’s breath hitched. Like Charlie, his heart lifted upon finding her, only to shatter again at the thought of losing her. The story and memories that resurfaced as they recounted them devastated him further. His choice to leave stemmed not from nobility or the desire to avoid getting in between them; it was born of sheer selfishness. He could no longer be near Charlie if he couldn’t have her completely. Now, as Vaggie’s proposal began to settle in, he was at a loss for how to respond.

Charlie was just as stunned, “Vaggie. What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Vaggie kept her eyes locked on Angel’s as she answered, “That I’m your girlfriend, and this thick-headed, stubborn gentleman staring at me, looking clueless, is your boyfriend.”

Vaggie caught the spark in his eyes, pain mixing with hope, fear pressing down on his throat. She knew he needed a little push, so she prompted him, “This is where you say yes.”

For Charlie, the offer was just as shocking. Vaggie always stood by her side, supported everything she did, never failing to lift her in her darkest hour. If Vaggie was offering this, it meant she was serious. Turning to face Angel, Charlie gripped his hand more firmly than she had intended, and repeated Vaggie’s words, “This is where you say yes, my knight. Your princess…your girlfriend… commands you.”

Angel’s throat choked up with emotion, unable to speak, and all he could do was nod, making Charlie’s cheeks blush crimson as she beamed a warm smile at him. Yet they remained frozen as they stared deep into each other’s eyes.

Vaggie looked at each of them in turn. She understood their hesitation. Again, it was up to her to move things along. Stepping in, close enough so only they could hear her words, Vaggie whispered her permission, “Would you just kiss, already?”

Charlie shuffled her feet, suddenly embarrassed. But the tension had been broken, and she looked into Angel’s loving eyes, the same ones she’d gazed into the morning they’d made love. They were full of desire, ownership, shyness, lust, and the hesitation of uncertainty. Charlie licked her lips and responded to all his pleas by kissing him deeply.

A mix of ‘awes’, soft cheering, and clapping filled the room as Angel and Charlie shared their first real kiss since the night they’d lost each other. No chains held them down anymore; only a shared awareness not to get carried away tempered their passion. They stole three additional soft pecks before Charlie turned her body to meld into his arms, nuzzling back against his chest.

Vaggie stepped up, turned, and nestled back into Charlie, who pulled her in and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. Vaggie pressed her head back against Charlie’s shoulder. “Are you complete now, my love?”

“Yes. Very much so. Thank you.” Charlie leaned back into Angel and felt him press his chin on the top of her head, and his arms squeezed her tightly. She felt him pressed behind her, and a new question popped into her head, “But Vaggie?”

“Yes?” Vaggie asked, sensing what Charlie was about to ask.

“How do we?”

Vaggie chuckled and tilted her head to look into Charlie’s curious eyes. “Let’s have that conversation in private, okay?”

“Okay.” Charlie giggled.

Neither noticed Angel’s cheeks flush crimson.

***

Lucifer observed the exchange with a silent sigh. Once the story concluded, he felt relieved as his other secret spell had succeeded. While Charlie and Angel thought they had revealed specific details to the group, in reality, they had not. The spell prompted them to subtly articulate details differently before causing them to forget them, again. The spell dampened their knowledge of Charlie’s wings and invisibility, with all credit for healing attributed to Cassie and her newfound powers. Charlie wasn’t prepared for those aspects of herself yet, nor was Hell ready to fully understand who Charlie truly was.

Regarding Seed, upon Charlie’s return, he approached Lilith and recounted everything that had transpired, utilizing the same magic that had given him access to his daughter’s memories. They spent many evenings together thereafter, debating passionately, until one day, Lilith announced her determination to discover any means possible to save her daughter’s life. She instructed Lucifer to inform Charlie that she was leaving for personal reasons and to keep her safe. She emphasized that he would be solely responsible for keeping Seed’s existence a secret. He accepted his responsibility, said farewell to his love, and has lived with a broken heart ever since. It was also part of why he’d been so absent in Charlie’s life, in case he slipped the reason for her mother’s departure.

But it was a matter for another time. He lifted his gaze to the new couple and smiled. They would have their time of happiness first.

Standing, Lucifer cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I do believe we’ve been an audience to more than the story we were promised. It’s late. I suggest everyone retire to their rooms and get some much-deserved rest.”

There were murmurs of agreement from everyone. Alastor, however, had a look of discontent on his smiling face, which did not reach his eyes. Instead, one eye twitched, and he faded into the floor with one whispered word: “Shit!”

Angel Dust, Husker, Niffty, and Cherri Bomb approached Kevin, who regretfully removed himself from the girls’ embrace. Angel Dust was the first to offer one of his four hands. Angel gripped it firmly, and they shook.

“If you’re gonna hang around here, pal, I have one request?” Angel Dust smirked.

“Shoot,” Angel smirked back.

“Pick a new name, sweet cakes. I’m the one true Angel Dust around here.”

With a chuckle, Angel said, “My friends call me Kevin, remember?”

Angel Dust nodded with a smile, “I like that. Welcome home, Kevin.”

Angel Dust moved out of the way as Niffty rushed up. She glanced up at Kevin, tilted her head, and pondered briefly, “I suppose I can like one good boy.” She jumped into Kevin’s arms, surprising him, and kissed his cheek. “However, you better be a clean boy!” She dropped down and gave him a wide, toothy grin. “Bu-bye!”

He watched her scurry off after Angel Dust and gave Charlie a curious look. She just smiled and shrugged. “We’re eighty percent sure she’s harmless.”

“Sixty,” Vaggie quipped, “after Adam.”

Husker stepped up next and offered his hand, which Kevin took, and they shook. “Drinks on the house.” That was all he said. Then he walked over to the bar and started cleaning glasses.

Cherri Bomb sized him up as she approached and slapped his shoulder. “I can’t wait to fight with you in a turf war, babe! You fucking rock!” She laughed, turned towards the rooms, and stopped. “Oh, right! I don’t live here!” She winked at Charlie, “Yet.”

Charlie blinked in surprise as Cherri Bomb laughed and walked out the front door. Lucifer stepped up next. Kevin parted from the girls, stepped forward, and bowed his head. “Sir. I am in your debt.”

“No.” Lucifer shook his head. “Both our debts are paid. You have saved my little girl twice, gave up eternal Heaven for her, and sacrificed more than your fair share. Your soul has suffered enough.” Lucifer pulled Kevin in and hugged him. “Welcome home, son.”

Kevin wept into Lucifer’s shoulder as Charlie and Vaggie stepped up, wrapped their arms around Kevin, and held him tight. After all the hell he’d been through in his life and death, Kevin had finally found his Heaven.

***

Minutes later, Lucifer said goodnight to the three and disappeared in a puff of red sulfur. This left Charlie, Vaggie, and Kevin alone for the first time. Kevin pulled from his uniform the amulet that Charlie had pressed into his palm the last night they’d shared by the river. He held it out to Charlie: “I believe this belongs to you, Charlie Morningstar.”

Charlie’s eyes glistened when she saw it, and she allowed him to drop it into her hands.

Vaggie looked at it and whistled at its beauty. “This is the amulet Cassie gave you? That saved you from Samedi?”

“It is.” Charlie closed her fingers around it, felt its power pulse in her hand, as if it knew it was home, and smiled softly. “Thank you, Kevin.”

Charlie lifted the amulet to clasp behind her neck, and Vaggie assisted her in latching it. Charlie took the photo her father had returned to her from her pocket and gifted it back to Kevin. “Hold onto this for us, please?”

“I will, thank you,” Kevin said. Charlie saw his eyes gleam as he stared momentarily at the photo and its memories. He then looked around the hotel, taking in its details for the first time since they’d finished construction, and it occurred to him, “I need a room,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Charlie had been thinking about that, though her thoughts had been trying to figure out sleeping arrangements for three, and she blushed hard. “Right! Your own room.”

“Charlie, naughty!” Vaggie teased, but knew there was much discussion ahead about their new dynamic and its promised power.

Steam rose from Charlie’s body as her embarrassment multiplied tenfold. “Vaggie!” She whined.

“And I’ll need a job as well.” Kevin changed the subject for Charlie’s sake: “Any ideas?”

“Security,” Charlie said quietly, “Strategy, like Sir Pentious did.”

“I can do that.” Kevin smiled. “I can even provide a resume and character references, if you’d like.” He gave Charlie a wink, who smiled wanly back, her heart still aching for her fallen friend.

Kevin knew that there was more of the story to tell. This time, though, he would be the audience. “Tell me about Sir Pentious. Tell me about all your friends.” Kevin took Charlie’s hand and kissed it. “Tell me all about your dreams, Charlie, and how this all came to be: The Hazbin Hotel.”

Charlie nodded gently, and Vaggie signaled for everyone to gather on the couch. She placed Charlie in the middle seat, with herself on the right and Kevin comfortably settling on her left. As they got cozy, Charlie sensed both of them leaning against her, filling her heart with warmth. Her eyes shimmering, she began to recount her story: “Well, it all started seven months ago, when I opened the Happy Hotel for wayward sinners to find redemption. To help guide into Heaven those who needed saving.” She paused to kiss Vaggie softly, then turned to rest her forehead against Kevin’s, whispering intimately, “Something I learned long ago. From a true, true angel.”

 

 

The world of Angel’s Demon….

 

…will continue.

Notes:

Thank you.

Thank you for reading Angel's Demon.

Thank you for bearing my mistakes, the changes I had to make and those I will make.

Thank you for sticking with me until the end.

I ask only one thing, dear reader; if you feel inclined. Let me know your thoughts. Your criticisms. Your hopes for the future of Angel's Demon.

There will be more.

But I welcome ideas.

This was never meant to become what it became. It was not until this weekend that I finally made the decision on how to end it. For months, I intended Angel to leave. I told friends he would suffer. I told myself, dont ship him with Charlie.

But when I finished this story, I could not bear to punish him, anymore. For the Chaggie die-hards, you may scream at me. I deserve it. I am a Chaggie fan, too.

I found muses for so many new stories. Writing Angel's Demon changed my life, for real. I spent my days watching TV and feeling depressed. Hazbin Hotel did something, gave me a world to explore, to practice writing and telling stories that others may fall in love with.

And I don't want to stop. I want to see what Angel's future holds, and I plan to explore what the triad of a demon princess and two fallen angels could do.

EDIT: I had meant to add something. There was no real way to write this into the story, organically, but the reason no one asks about the IT demon, is that as Angel and Charlie share the story, they do not share that detail. Their actual words to the group were spoken in a way to suggest that Charlie was bound, and broke it, all without the conflict with the demon.

This was done by them to not complicate how the group would look at Charlie, as she will be discussing the subject with her father in private, with Angel, and Vaggie, at some point.

It is the only 'plot hole' that I can think of at the moment, that needs to be explained outside of the story.

Chapter 58: Epilogue

Dark skies rumbled with the threat of acid rain above a small, desolate town situated on the far outskirts of the Wrath Ring, where about a dozen structures still stood and was just under thirty souls shy of becoming a full-on ghost town. None of them were in good repair anymore, and electricity of any sort had long been shut off. Candles illuminated a few of the structures, with most of the light in the town coming from the corner saloon, where most of the inhabitants of the town converged to get drunk with any number of moonshine concoctions the saloon’s owner could come up with.

Lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, illuminating a figure standing across the street from the saloon, adorned in a black shroud that cloaked them in mystery. The flash of light from the electrical discharge above revealed eyes of gold for a split moment that seemed to sneer at the structure before them. As the slow drizzle of acid rain began to fall, slapping the roofs above the mysterious visitor, with the drops hissing as they hit the magical repellent stained into the wood, they took off in a dash towards the entrance of the saloon.

Inside the saloon, in a dark room in the back, smoke that seemed to move as if alive formed tentacles that caressed the battered walls of the small office-like room. One of those eerie arms twisted around a knife that lay prone on the side of a desk sunk back towards the corner of the room and—lifting it up—threw it at the wall, where it plunged into the rotting wood with a muffled thunk.

A light chuckle emerged from the darkness as a demon appeared, one that was obviously a sinner, though how it was outside of the Pride ring was unknown. The sinner’s two round, beady eyes, barely more than black marbles, were set inside a tall red and black hat that dropped down and served as its head until it settled around its neck. Just above the shoulders, scarlet sutures connected the neck to the sinner’s paper-thin, dark charcoal leathery skin. The sinner towered to a height of over nine feet, nearly touching the ceiling, and its anorexic appearance was akin to walking wooden coat hangers covered in bloody maroon fabric, which had once resembled a tailored dress suit. It had a glowing green collar locked around its neck, lain against its pencil-thin shoulders. Another chain, equally colored and pulsing energy, fell back behind him and into the shadows.

The second demon to emerge from the smoke was a large, charcoal-furred hellhound. It had no eyes, only small X-shaped scars where they once saw the world. A white mechanical device, with black tubes sunk into its upper lips, sat upon its muzzle, enhancing its sense of smell to such a level that it could almost see via scent. Its left paw was missing, and in its place were razor-sharp claws made of angelic steel, which glistened in the thin light that invaded the shadows as it tapped them on the wooden floor.

The third figure, larger, heavier, and more twisted than the others, sat in a chair, its horns scraping the ceiling over the desk. The gray smoke, which came from a black cigar wedged between jaws, resembling great white shark teeth, sat in a grim reptilian mouth that swayed rhythmically around its head; eyes would occasionally emerge and vanish through the smoke, one orange with a black goat-shaped pupil that pulsed angrily and the other a blob of fire, enclosed in a translucent globe that looked like glass. A big red X appeared where its shriveled heart used to be, pierced by the bullet that had taken it’s life. As the smoke swirled around his scaly, repulsive form in waves, it roughly tugged on the chain that was fastened to the first.

“Are you sure of your source?” The smokey man growled.

“Yes, Master. He is in Hell in the Pride Ring,” the lanky demon croaked as its neck cracked under the chain.

“So, he has finally reunited with the princess?” The smokey demon questioned.

“According to my source, the answer is indeed yes. They defeated Adam’s Exorcist army, and now he lives in the hotel.”

“Then it is time to plan. I want his head on a platter, and I want it now.”

“And when we kill him, I will get to feed on his flesh?” Asked the hellhound, licking its lips.

“Oh, yes. But we must be careful, for I have not yet found the means by which to overthrow Lucifer. For that, we will need to capture the princess. But when I do, my dear Samedi and Rygen… ” The demon paused and ate the rest of the cigar, chewed it, and swallowed, and the cloud of smoke around the demon’s head cleared, revealing the familiar features of Bible, skewered by his new Overlord appearance. “We will have our revenge!”

The three enjoyed an obvious villainous chuckle together when a feminine voice echoed from the door behind them.

“If you’re looking for revenge against Angel…”

Bible’s head swiveled towards the door, the smokey tentacles shooting out towards the voice, intending to ensnare the intruder. Instead, a bright blast of energy tore through them and ripped a hole through one of the walls. The figure stepped forward, pointing a prosthetic hand from under their shroud at the three, its wrist a spinning halo of gold with a glowing orb embedded in the palm. The light illuminated the room, and the cloaked figure sneered at Bible, “Then you’re going to need help.”

Samedi glared at the figure, bending his sinewy form downward to peer at her, while Rygen dragged his claws through the dirt on the floor, ready to pounce at the first opportunity. “Who are you?”

Ignoring both of them, the cloaked figure raised the prosthetic arm to pull back her hood. With gleaming golden eyes of rage on a familiar face, Lute grinned wickedly at Bible, “Your partner.”

Bible leaned back, his chair creaking under his massive weight, and folded his hands behind his head. With an intrigued look, he shrugged his shoulders and smirked. “I’m listening.”

 

 

Notes:

Expected sometime in 2026

Angels' Demon Book 2 - Vengeance

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Angels' Demon Series