Keeping a secret is depressing. Maybe not for me at this point with my stunted emotions, but clearly for Trace. Especially if it's a secret that's in plain sight and you can't do anything to quash the curiosity it incites within you.

Actually, seems like it's depressing for me too. I hate not knowing stuff. I could barely make out the tattoo enough to figure out it's features beyond lines and circles. That left an internet search out of the question and the only person who could tell me about it wasn't clearly too scarred to do so.

Another unending circle, first with the demons and angels, and then my own boyfriend.

While the day we spent inside at my place was peaceful, and nice, and therapeutic almost- my eyes would stray towards the side of his head in moments of silence. He caught me staring a few times, but he just rolled his eyes or threw me a tired glare. Whatever he did, it all meant that he wasn't going to be spilling the beans in it anytime soon.

He was still sleeping when I left his place after my day off. Atleast he'd been understanding enough about my trauma. I usually found it pretty hard to let people into my private space. It was only after I'd worked with Dottie and Sasha for about six months that I'd called them over. It had been absolutely impromptu and completely on the spot so I wouldn't have time to think about what I'm doing. That's the only way I could invite people over now, apart from trusting them... or the uninvited guests I seemed to keep having.

Dottie wasn't around when I walked into the restaurant. She emerged from the kitchen with a few trays full of food as I settled behind the bar. I was a bit late. The lunch rush had started already and my regulars were seated at the bar. I didn't really get a chance to talk to Dottie till after everyone had left.

Sasha walked out of the kitchen with sandwiches and fries for the two of us. He was nice enough to also make shakes to wash it all down.

"Thanks, Sasha." I mumbled through the thick chocolate shake in my mouth. "This really hits the spot."

"I'm glad it does." He laughed, slapping my back and almost making me spit out whatever I'd just swallowed. "Either you've suddenly started liking my food or you've finally got an appetite these days."

I rolled my eyes, reaching for a fry. "I've been working out a lot lately."

Dottie snickered, pointing her fry at me.  "You youngsters call it 'working out' these days?" I raised an eyebrow as she continued. "I know you came in a cab. You were with Trace."

"Yeah, so?" I shrugged easily, chomping down on a few more fries. "I could finally call him over for dinner. Atleast that's off my chest."

"Ah, yes. I forget you have tu-rauma." Sasha nodded sagely. "I am proud of you. It took us six months, and Trace barely six weeks."

"One month actually." I replied right before chomping down on the burger. "I was wabing for Hallo-been to finish."

"Oh, yeah. Good idea." Dottie paused to take a dainty bite of a sloppy burger and wipe her mouth. "How was it? The entire night?"

"Oh." I nodded slowly, swallowing. "I met him at my building. We made dinner, watched something random, went to bed. Nothing much."

"What was his reaction at seeing your place?" Dottie's eyes twinkled. "That's what I really want to know."

"I bet." The burger suddenly lost its taste as I bit down. "The sabe as you guys."

"Very, very big surprise." Sasha mumbled to himself.

"That and disbelief, denial, confusion, worry, suspicion... For a very long time after that, I thought you're a mobster's mistress or something."

Somehow, she's not far off. "Nah." I shrugged easily, trying to figure out a way to change the topic. "My friend rents it out to me. He comes back to the country now and then and comes to visit."

"He comes to visit his own apartment?"

I chuckled at Sasha's words. "No, he comes to visit me. He has two other apartments in this city. I'm just a friend."

"A very good friend." Dottie wiped her mouth, leaning forward with that same spark in her gray eyes. "Maybe you could turn him my way. I've been single for a while."

A shudder of disgust went through my body. One I barely hid from my friends watchful eyes. "Honestly, uh..." I reached up to scratch my head. "I think he's gay." Dottie's lips turned up in a pout. "Or he might not be." I quickly backtracked. "I've just uh-never seen him with a girl, that is. I can't be sure but, yeah. I don't know."

Sasha nudged me, I felt my internal organs shift three inches to the side. "Ooh, she is hiding him from you for herself, Dottie."

I turned to glare at Sasha. "Do I need to remind you about Trace?"

Sasha burst out laughing, slapping my back again and making my ribs shake in their place like loose change. "I joke, Ryleigh! It'z joke!"

He even laughed with an accent. I sighed to myself, inhaling deeply to let my lungs regain form before continuing to chow down. With Dottie's hopes dashed, my mood slightly shot and Sasha's chuckling away at his own comedic genius, we managed to turn the tide of the conversation. We then shoved everything in the dishwasher and set to removing the leftover Halloween decorations. Dottie placed them all in the box she'd brought to take back to Miranda.

The night was slower than usual. The bar was practically empty before eleven. But the one person sitting in the corner didn't seem like they were leaving anytime soon. Rolling my neck, I turned my head up to face the ceiling as I wished for a long bath. I was taking way too many of those nowadays. I really need a hobby.

The bell dinged and I let my head fall back to face the front, surprise crossing through me at the familiar face walking in. "Mike?"

He nodded at me, walking over to sit at his usual place as I stared at him in confusion. "Tequila."

Someone wasn't in a chatty mood. I poured it out into a glass the way he preferred it, walking over with clear confusion on my face. "Is this a normal visit or a preemptive visit? Is Lou going to walk through the door any minute now?"

Mike threw me a glare. "Is the demon all you think about?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "But it is nice to know when he's coming back because Cloud isn't as good at conversation." Cloud replied with a growl from under the counter.

"Right. The hellhound." Mike shrugged. Something he seemed to have picked up from me. "The war council accepted my proposal... of your idea." I could hear the grudging note in that. "But we have no idea how to begin. And I'm in the first wave to start the search."

I had to stifle the sense of satisfaction I felt at realising that Mike was here to drink away his job woes. "Maybe from where it was stolen."

"That knowledge is not meant for us." Is that anger toward his higher-ups? "They refuse to tell us in case it implicates the angels."

"Who are pretending they had no idea where the weapon was." Mike threw me a glare. "Hypothetically." I added.

The glare didn't subside. "Where did you hear this?"

"Here and there."

"Then the demons, no doubt." Mike tsked in irritation. "No angel would let such blasphemy slip."

Blasphemy, angels, demons, war- atleast Cloud didn't discriminate. "I never said I heard it from demons."

"Only demons talk so openly about supernatural matters."

I laughed easily. "Of course, they do. No one cares about this. Even if someone is listening in, the maximum someone might assume they're talking about is a show." Cloud growled for no reason. I turned to look at him. That was rather soft. Was he snoring? "People don't really believe this kind of stuff exists in real life unless they're thrown into the middle of it."

"Like you were?"

"More or less." I shrugged, turning back to Mike. "Has the search already started?"

Mike gave me a dry look over the top of his glass. "Are you going senile already or did you not hear me say I'm the first wave?"

I frowned at that. "Ouch, first of all, and second- you've been gone for over a month. Lou came in last week and said he's going for the council and he's not been back since. How did the talks last a fucking week?"

"They were pretty long." Mike paused. "But they weren't a week long. Few hours in human time, maximum." He stopped again. I could see him struggling with the decision to tell me something or not. His next words were very careful. The dimension the council is based in is a neutral zone." He tapped the counter. "Just like this one. It doesn't follow the laws of human time, or angel time, or demon time. I don't think the concept even exists in that space."

I cocked my head, starting to feel my attention meander. "I don't get it."

"Time is very..." He frowned too, struggling to explain it. "... skewed over there. A few hours in there was a week here. Sometimes it might be minutes, or seconds, maybe a year."

"Whoa." I leaned back in amazement. "That's messed up. If this place is based in the same zone, why isn't time messed up here too? You guys are here for hours, but it's only ever five past twelve when everyone leaves."

"That's the demon's influence." He waved his glass towards me. I picked up the bottle. "He created a pocket. His influence on it holds this place still in the neutral zone."

"Oh, huh." My eyes flickered to the man in the corner. "Hold on. I want to hear more."

I refilled Mike's glass, walking back over to close the customers tab. He insisted on some good night pleasantries, but I couldn't wait for him to toddle out of the place before I dragged a stool over to Mike.

A shudder went down my back as the stool passed through some of Cloud's trailing aura. I ignored it as I sat down. "So, this neutral zone... is there no way to set it to human time?"

Mike scoffed. "Why would you want that?"

"Because now that I can no longer sleep, this would be a good way to pass time than spending ten hours at home doing nothing."

Mike threw me a confused look. He was more open without Lou around. "As a female of the human species," so this is how it feels like to be in a nature documentary, "shouldn't you be rather terrified of walking home by yourself late at night and alone?"

"Maybe." I nodded. "But this area is relatively safe. It's also very upscale, so there are usually enough beat cops." I tapped the bar. "Also, I carry mace, a switchblade and no cash. So not only am I relatively dangerous, I also am a useless target."

"Does that mean you leave your tips in the bar?"

"The 'no cash' thing only refers to my wallet. I have a few hidden pockets in my bag."

I wagged my eyebrows to drive my point home, but all I got in return was a skeptical look. "I'm glad you added a 'relatively' before dangerous because I cannot say the same for you."

I snickered, reaching out to smack Mike's shoulder. "Fucking rude, Mike. I can cut a bitch if I have to."

Mike's frown deepened. "Isn't that a crime in human laws? 'Armed assault'?"

"I don't mean that literally... unless I have to." I paused to knock the wooden counter. "Don't jinx me. I don't want to get mugged."

"You're a fairly superstitious being, aren't you?"

"Not really?" I got off the stool to start wandering away to exit the bar. "There's a few bartender rituals and superstitions I've seen others follow, but I'm not the type. Never have been."

"Bartender superstitions?" Mike looked into his tumbler. "Those seem rather stupid."

"When you see them in action, it actually feels rather true." I shrugged with one shoulder as I gathered glasses from tables here and there. "I had a friend who didn't like serving shots as her first order. Whenever she did that something wild would happen that night. And on days where she didn't feel like working too much or too hard, she refused to serve shots first. She started with a beer to set the night." A smile formed on my face as memories flooded me. "I remember her turning to me and saying 'I am ordering a beer. Get me a beer. Now.' because we had a bachelorette party arrive early in the night."

"Humans are rather odd. But this seems kind of interesting."

"I know right?" I turned to the bar with a few glasses in my hand. "This one dude I heard of refused to work without a pen in his pocket. Then this other person would like bless the bar after earning the first tip of the night."

"Bless the bar? How?"

"Wrap the note around a rosary, say a few words, cross himself." I stepped over Cloud to reach the sink. "Amen, capitalism. Am I right?" I chuckled to myself in silence. Mike didn't seem to find any of it funny.

An old memory flashed into my head and I looked up from the sink. "I also had this one friend, not a bartender, who had this stupid handshake that she loved to do."

"A handshake is two steps. Why make it stupid?"

"Oh my god, shut up." I rolled my eyes as he looked over. "You sound like a grumpy old man."

"I'm not a man."

"Oh, wow. That's what you take offense with?"

"What else am I supposed t-"

The bell dinged and I heard a voice boom out before I could look up. "Holy fucking shit! I need a drink, Ryleigh."

I snickered, shaking my head to myself as I looked up to meet Lou's eyes. "Welcome back. How was the council?"

"Hours of bullshit. Ask Mike. He was there."

I turned to Mike who rolled his eyes at being referred to. "That's blasphemy to the Holy Elders, demon."

"They can all kiss my ass." Lou replied cheerily, strolling to his seat beside Mike. "Been a while, Ryleigh. And remind me how long?"

I poured out a glass of whiskey, walking over to place it in front of him. "A week."

"Oof." He wrapped his fingers around the glass, shaking his head to himself. "Do these guys not know how to stabilise a simple pocket dimension?" Mike rolled his eyes again. "You should thank me, Ryleigh."

"Thanks, Lou."

"You're wel-" he turned to look at me as I walked away. Cloud growled at being disturbed by my presence again. "Do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, Mike told me about the neutral zone deal." I started wiping down glasses. "Sounds annoying."

"It is. Which is why you should thank me. Again."

"Sure. Let me get right to that in a bit."

"Tell me when you're about to. I'll record it."

"Oh, now you'll use your phone." I replied dryly. "Anyway, when are you guys going to start searching for the weapon?"

"Pfft. Eventually." I looked up as Mike turned to glare at Lou. Lou glanced at him, sighing to himself. "By which, I mean as fast as possible. I've a few ideas to start with."

"That's a few more than Mike." Mike's glare shifted to me. I shrugged. "Sorry. You need the incentive."

"Incentive is... right." Mike grudgingly admitted. "But atleast this counts as a ceasefire. We have a few weeks, in human time, to find this before the third council."

"Weeks is human time, Mike." I wiped my hands down, walking over to sit in front of them and feeling almost nostalgic about it. "You don't need to explain this."

"Can't have a human getting it wrong."

"Because I will all of a sudden forget the concept of time and misjudge weeks with a second, won't I?"

Lou chuckled. "Maybe you should relax a bit, feathers. We're no longer in the council and you no longer need to pretend that you don't like humans."

"I never said I don't like humans." Mike looked away from Lou. "I just do not enjoy their presence."

"What about Ryleigh? She's part angel." Lou gestured to me with his glass. "She's tolerable."

"To an extent." Mike sniffed. "Atleast she doesn't stink of human anymore."

I frowned, turning to look at Cloud in confusion. "Should I be offended?" He let out what sounded like an annoyed snort in reply. "What did he say, Lou?"

"Leave me alone."

"Great." I looked up at Lou. "What's got you in a rage? I didn't even do anything."

Lou gave me a dry look. "Cloud. Said. Leave. Me. Alone." He paused. "Or something along that line. Old buzzard keeps sleeping now." Cloud snorted again. "Oh, shut up."

"And you still feel humans are wonderful?"

"It's called a misunderstanding, feathers." Lou turned to face Mike with a familiar smile on his face. "Much like the one your kind had when we collectively decided to not hide the weapon in case it is found."

Ah, a fight. It wouldn't be a reunion without one. I leaned forward, reaching up to rub my eye as it twitched.

"My kind had nothing to do with the loss of the weapon." Mike gritted out, voice surprisingly blank.

"I didn't say that." Lou was still smiling. "Though I'm pretty sure you guys did. Because clearly, if you're hiding the weapon, you're also responsible for losing the weapon." Another twitch, I ignored it.

"You demons sure love making up stories, don't you?" Mike's hand tightened on his glass. "The weapon was never in our possession."

"Not like someone as low on the ladder as you would know, feather."

I felt the heat rise, my vision flickered as Mike's anger rose. "My rank does not matter in this. Your false accusations are far more important."

"My accusations are right." Lou narrowed his eyes, black bleeding out into his sclera. "The weapon didn't just walk away on its own. The fact that your side admitted first that you 'believed it was missing' while still maintaining the stance that you had no idea where it was is highly impossible."

"Watch your tongue, demon." I turned to the side as my eyes started stinging. Was there something in my eyes? Was there something i-

Lou growled, eyes going full black as my vision got more blurry. "You can't do a thing against me, we-"

I whimpered as the pain in my eyes shot up. It spiked right into my head, making me squeeze my eyes shut. I leaned forward, pressing my palms against my eyes as the burning increased as well. My eyes felt like they were on fire and my head felt like it was going to explode.

"Fuck!" I spat out. The pressure was doing nothing. Water. I needed cold water. There's a bottle of cold water in the mini-fridge under my...

It's gone.

The pain vanished about as suddenly as it had started. I held my palms there for a few more moments before gently pulling them away and opening my eyes a slit.

Slowly sitting up, I let my hands fall back into my lap as my eyes opened up a bit more. My vision was blurry. It took a few blinks to clear it and when I could see clearly again, the only two customers in my bar were looking at me like I was crazy.

I was talking to a demon and an angel. Maybe I was.

"What happened?" Lou asked as I stared at the two blankly in silence.

I hesitantly reached up to touch my face. "I... I don't know." The twitch was still there, but it was fading away.

"A tantrum." Mike scoffed, turning away from me about as quickly as the pain had gone away. "Even adult humans throw one now and then apparently."

I frowned, cocking my head as Mike spoke. I could feel his condescension... I could see... something.

Lou turned to face Mike again. "Just like the angels when we called them out for hiding the weapon?" It took no time for him to return to taunting Mike.

"Allegedly, demon. And I said..." The heat flared back up. Mike narrowed his eyes, keeping his gaze straight. "Watch... your... words."

"And I remember being interrupted before I could called you a weakling." Lou laughed, easily taking a sip. "You're barely a stopgap to what I can do, feathers. You are nothing to me." With his last words, Lou's eyes completely went black. A chill went down my spine as the heat rose further on my right. I could see Mike's eyes shift, starting to glow in anger.

But that's not all I could see.

"I..." I frowned, glancing between the two as they had a temperature standoff. "I... I can see you."

There was a short pause before Lou turned to glare at me. His skin had gone pale. I could see his teeth as he spoke. "I would hope you could, Ryleigh. Or you'd miss out on this beautiful mug."

"No, Lou." I leaned forward, looking both of them over. "I can... I can see your auras."

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

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Ooh, more auras. Spicy.
Wonder what's going on? Me too. Keep reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!
Fillers over, yee!

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Hope you enjoyed the read!