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I catch Katie as she slides off, leaving huge smears of blood as she goes. I lay her on her back and concentrate, bringing the energy of Heaven into a ball of white light in my palm, then pressing that ball into her forehead. She gasps, not a voluntary noise, but a reflex. Her eyes fill with the same white light; it pours out of her ears, her nostrils, her open mouth. It bursts through the ragged holes in her flesh, between the sinew of exposed muscle. It fills the chips in her bone made by powerfully destructive stabs of a serrated dagger. It fills the entire room, which begins trembling, then violently shaking.
In a moment, it’s over. The light recedes and dissipates.
Katie sits up slowly, her body, her life, restored. She’s a beautiful young woman, with olive skin and long, glossy dark hair. High cheekbones and full lips.
To think most of that face was about to be removed…
Her brown eyes sweep around the room, frightened. They land on Agrat, still leaning against the contraption that held her, still smeared with her blood.
She flutters her fingers at Katie. “Hello, darling.”
“Who are you?” Katie asks, her voice trembling. She quickly looks back toward me. “Where am I? I’m not supposed to be here!” The questions are for both of us.
I made sure to clean her memory of anything that happened before she answered the Tinder message that brought her here.
Drawing a breath, I look her in the eye and shake my head. “This is just a dream. You will forget all about it as soon as you wake. There’s nothing to fear.” I lightly press two fingers to her forehead, and in the next millisecond, she’s gone.
Agrat glances around. “Where’d she go?”
“I sent her back to her home, in her bed. Soon, she’ll forget ever seeing us, and continue on with her life.”
“And if she makes the same mistake?” She crosses her arms.
“She won’t.” I rise to my feet.
“Oh? Would that be…meddling?” Agrat pouts, putting a delicate fingertip to her chin in mocking thoughtfulness.
“It’s called protection.”
“Your…” Agrat points at me, wiggling her finger side to side. “Pigeon wings are still showing.”
I clench my fists and flex them to flare out even wider. “I’m going to clear out this nest of depravity.”
“Hold on, now.” Agrat lifts a hand and steps toward me. “I know you’re all high on the smite, but just calm your righteousness for a second. One demon is nothing. An entire building full of them is definitely going to get both our bosses’ attention.”
“I think Ishouldget My King’s attention!” I exclaim. “He is clearly uninformed!”
“Oh, my sweet flying walnut.” Agrat shakes her head, and for once, it’s not in a mocking way. In the distance, I hear shouting and growling, and the building shakes in its foundation as the sound of several pairs of demonic feet thunders up toward us. “Cavalry’s here, apparently.”
I clench my fist around the hilt of my sword. “Good.”
“Not good. Not right now.” Agrat, with a mocking smile, touches my forehead. In the next instant, we’re back in her office. I blink at her. “I told you, you’re not the only one with neat tricks.”
“Apparently not,” I mutter. Earlier, I brought us to the human realm the same way I sent Katie back to her home. Agrat’s effort was meant to mock mine, but it’s still unsettling to know she can harness her power in the same way as me.
Agrat pushes me into the chair, then slowly straddles my lap. I tense, preparing to push her off me.
She produces a black silk handkerchief out of the air and pushes my hands away. “You’ve got demon blood on your face, love.”
She dabs at my cheeks, her eyes finding mine. I can’t seem to look away from her dark eyes.
“You know, disobedience looks good on you,” she murmurs, swiping the soft cloth over my face. “The way you took out that demon…”
“Don’t remind me,” I mutter, looking away.”
“Hey.” She presses a finger to my cheek, turning my face back toward her. “You did the right thing, Zeph. It’s not all black and white. There are untold shades of gray. Questioning them isn’t wrong. Blind obedience is.”
I tighten my jaw. “It feels wrong.”
