Doesn't it just suck when a demon gets into your head?


Later, beautiful.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Why had Blackwing called her beautiful? No one had in her entire existence.

Grace could remember Nate's words all too well. You look perfect. You're an Angel. But he had stated a fact, not paid her a compliment. Blackwing on the other hand. . . Did he really think she was beautiful?

What the fuck is wrong with me? Grace scrubbed her skin, leaving it raw and tender under the hot water. The shower blasted full force above her in a foolish attempt to wash off every particle of Blackwing. She was vain and cursed. No wonder red pustules were popping out on her skin like daisies. Why should she care what that wretched Demon thought?

Mind tricks. Everything he says or does is just to confuse me.

Heaving a hopeless sigh, Grace turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and stopped in front of the mirror. Steam clouded the surface. She wiped the condensation away and stared at herself. Dirty, vain Grace stared back. "Stop thinking about it!"

"Grace, how much longer will you be in there?" Faith called. "I need my toothbrush."

"Um, I'll get it."

She grabbed Faith's pink toothbrush and rushed into the bedroom only to trip over a pile of clothes in the doorway. She managed to right herself in time and keep the towel on.

"Thanks!" Faith appeared in front of her and snatched the toothbrush before Grace could make a move. She rushed to the open suitcase on her bed and dropped it on top of the humongous pile of clothes.

"You usually shower fast. What took so long?"

"I just felt really dirty." Grace scanned the floor for more obstacles and carefully made her way to her bed. "What's with the mess?"

"I'm packing." Faith put a white, one-piece swimsuit on top of the overflowing contents of her suitcase. She scratched her cheek. "Maybe this is a bit much for one week."

"No kidding. It looks like you're moving out." Grace sagged into the mattress.

"I'm not. Well, not yet anyway." Faith lingered between the suitcase and closet, a hanger with a white summer dress in her hand. "I've never been away anywhere. Especially for a whole week."

"Why didn't you just choose a one day picnic? I've heard it's possible."

"That would work for you and Nathaniel." Faith let out a dramatic sigh and tossed the dress back in the closet. She stalked to her suitcase and started throwing things out of it. "You work together, spend all this time with each other. Azriel's a Demon hunter, I'm an Afterlife guide. We barely see each other."

"Yeah, you have a point." Grace waited for Faith to continue chattering like she usually did. Instead, her friend wrung her hands while staring at the suitcase, uncharacteristically quiet. "You're nervous."

"I wish I could say I'm not, but... I'll be alone with Azriel for one whole week." She glanced at Grace, her lower lip trembling. "What are we supposed to talk about all that time? What if he realizes he doesn't like me?" Tears shone in her eyes.

"Hey." Grace got up and hugged her friend. "Everything will be great. It's only natural to be nervous. And Azriel adores you. I bet you won't get enough of each other."

Faith attempted a smile as she wiped her eyes. "You're right. I just wish you and Nate could come along."

"Yeah, me too." Grace smiled back.

After the whole Blackwing debacle of the previous night, she was really starting to wish that she and Nate would go on the Journey soon. Sword or no sword. He brought out the best in her, made her a better Angel. And she had finally grown up enough to understand that questioning everything and rebelliousness would get her nowhere. Except maybe in Blackwing's clutches. And she was sure she wanted nowhere near him. She needed Nate, not only so she could improve, but to feel clean again.

"You'll be there, won't you? At the wedding?" Faith asked.

"Of course. Right behind you, holding the train of your beautiful, white dress."

⚔⚔⚔

The blades met in midair with the dull clank of blunted metal. Grace drew her training sword back and charged again. Luce barely managed to parry. Grace crouched and kicked Luce's legs from under her. She fell to the floor, and raised her sword to block Grace's next blow. The force of the hit sent Luce's sword twirling out of her hand.

"Wow, Grace." She laughed when Grace put the sword's tip to her neck. "You're really improving. Soon enough, I'll need to find you a better sparring partner."

"Sorry about that." Grace extended a hand to help Luce to her feet. "Hope I didn't hurt you."

"I'm tougher than you think, Junior." Luce nudged Grace's shoulder with her fist as though to remind her that she was centuries older and a trainer on top of that. "Has Nathaniel been training you on the side?"

"No." Nate wasn't even in the Garden anymore. He'd left to investigate the weird Demon behavior problem almost a week ago. She hadn't seen or heard from him since. Grace tossed her training sword in the barrel with the others more forcefully than necessary. How she wished she had her own sword to practice with.

"Really? Well, you're a very fast learner, then."

"Not fast enough," Grace mumbled. This wasn't enough to bring Blackwing down. She'd seen how fast he could move.

"What's your hurry?" Luce picked up her fallen weapon.

"I'm hardly good enough to bring Blackwing down."

Luce stopped midway through throwing the sword toward the barrel and stared at her, her eyes wide and fearful. The blade clattered to the ground, missing the barrel by an inch. "Did you say Blackwing?"

Grace tilted her head. Huh? "Yes."

"As in Robert Blackwing?"

"Right again."

Luce marched to Grace, grasped her arm and squeezed. "Why would you want to do that?"

Okay, weird. "Because he's a Demon and it's my job to kill Demons."

"Well, yes, but not Blackwing."

This was getting ridiculous. Why did all the older Angels have strange reactions when it came to this one particular Demon? She'd heard the rumors of invincibility too, but it didn't scare the crap out of her. Blackwing bled too. She'd proven it.

Grace yanked herself out of Luce's grip. "Why not? What makes him so special?"

"We don't hunt Blackwing because he doesn't harm humans."

"What?" Grace shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around this blatant lie.

Luce gazed at the floor as she shuffled her feet. "It's been over half a century since Blackwing directed his actions toward humans." Her voice was almost muffled as she pressed her chin into her chest. "He doesn't kill them, try to take them over or influence them in any way."

"Are you kidding? He seduces human females," Grace burst out. And why did she sound so angry about it?

Luce shook her head. "If it's consensual, it doesn't count. And I believe it is. If you've seen him, you can tell why." She flushed a delicate shade of pink and looked away, scratching her arm absently.

Grace stared at her. At least she wasn't the only one who thought Blackwing was kinda hot. Ugh, I did not just think that! The back of her knees started itching. She fought the impulse to scratch. Okay, she had no means to confirm what Luce just told her, but she couldn't claim she'd actually seen Blackwing mess with humans. "So, if he doesn't harm humans, what does he do?"

Luce shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Nathaniel should have told you this by now," she mumbled. "Blackwing's an Angel Slayer."

"A what?" There were no such things. Demons concentrated their actions toward humans. They attacked and killed Angels if they got in the way, but didn't purposely hunt them down.

"An Angel Slayer," Luce repeated. "So you should stay away from him. We all do."

Luce walked to her locker, pulled out a towel, wiped the sweat off her neck, then proceeded to drying her short hair as if nothing had happened. But she was right. Nate should have told Grace about this. No wonder he was so worried whenever Blackwing showed up. Though he didn't seem to want to kill her. Just talk to her. A cold current ran down her spine as she remembered him pinning her down, grasping her wrists so hard he almost broke her bones. Something told her he might want to kill her - he just liked playing with his food.

"If he's an Angel Slayer, why don't we kill him?"

Luce sighed. "Because our job is to protect humans, not ourselves. If he gets in the way, we kill him. Though have you tried touching him lately?"

Oh, she'd done a lot of touching, but not the way Luce meant. Grace clenched her fists, fighting the impulse to punch herself. Why couldn't she stop thinking about it? Blackwing would have a laugh if he saw how crazy he'd driven her.

"Felicity and I are going to Alfredo's for a drink after we finish tonight's job. We only have one Demon to hunt down, so..." Luce checked her watch as though it could actually tell hunting time. "Should be done around eleven. Wanna come?"

"Alfredo's? On 52nd Street? On Earth?"

"Yeah." Luce threw her a sidelong glance. "You can meet us there."

Where could she descend closest? Pretty far away from the place. Her heartbeat skipped like a little girl on her way to the candy shop. A vivid image of Blackwing cornering her filled her mind. He could kill her so easily. Or worse - use more mind tricks. She shivered. She wasn't going out without Nate. Not after what Luce had told her.

"Eh, no thanks. I think I'll crash on the couch tonight. Rest, watch a movie or two." Or ten.

"You watch movies?" Luce shook her head in obvious disapproval. "Suit yourself." She shrugged and walked out of the training room.

Grace dropped on a low wooden bench and sunk her head in her hands. What she actually wanted was to go out and hunt Demons, but with Nate gone, she received no assignments. And going out posed one big problem: Blackwing's face still haunted her, and she didn't want to risk meeting him out on the town.