I wasn't sure my body had ever experienced a dream that had been so real. Next morning I'd awoken to find every bone aching and a throat so dry I could rival the travellers of the Sahara. 

My mouth was under the kitchen tap in a flash and I was gulping down any water I could do, not letting a drop go to waste. Admittedly I wasn't that resourceful and my face was getting sprayed, but that was just as refreshing in itself: I was drenched from head to toe in sweat and I needed something cool. I turned off the tap and let out a loud sigh of relief as I wrenched my head out of the sink: I never realised water could taste so good. 

I took off my boxers, threw them in the bin, and proceeded to take a shower- a freezing one at first before changing the temperature to lukewarm. The mild water was comforting and gave me a chilled state of mind to think about everything I needed to make a decision on, but I didn't actually require that much time: The Oracle had basically made the choice for me. 

I still wasn't sure I could trust this mystical being with a mind only God could understand, but it wasn't really about trust anymore. My demonic duties and Mrs Darcy Robbins aside, I didn't really want to experience anymore life-threatening nightmares. It wasn't worth it and I didn't care about Satan so why would I put his jobs ahead of my life? 

And in any case, The Oracle obviously had a good reason for all of this. I didn't even know how much power she actually had, but it must've taken a lot of energy to meddle with a powerful demon's dreams and replace them with supposed events from the past. She really wanted me to see those catacombs and I was now far too curious to resist, wondering if I would find out anything about Il Libro Dei Demoni in those tunnels.

She definitely had me where she wanted me. I was ready to dive. 

But I wasn't a fool either. There was absolutely no chance that Dev would open up about The Fields of Ahaz and it would come across as quite strange if I randomly asked Carmen about an abusive ex, and The Oracle probably knew that. I couldn't prove anything. And that was dangerous. This trip could easily be a trap and I was going to have to come prepared. However, the vulnerability of the dream world didn't apply to the real one: I was better matched for any tricks that could be thrown my way. 

But I had to admit that the nightmares had left a lasting impact on me. I now felt more cautious, abandoning the silly, naive principle that I was practically invincible because of my abilities. There were other powers out there in the Universe; other powers that were dangerous because of their ambiguity. I wasn't the Almighty Creator so therefore I wasn't all knowing and that left me prone to danger. It was time to tread carefully. 

After washing my hair, I turned off the shower and dried myself. With a towel wrapped around my waist I made my way back to my room, just in time to hear my phone vibrating on the night stand. 

It was a text from Carmen. 

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I've got next week off, so if you'd like to make some plans I'm free."

She ended the text with two kisses, but suddenly I became too excited to think about something so mundane. My heart was thudding in my chest violently and I was grinning with a nervous hope: this was just too perfect to be true. 

"In that case then, get a suitcase packed for that week. I've got somewhere nice to take you." 

I waited, subconsciously holding my breath in for her reply. 

It was almost instantaneous.

"Sounds great! Where are we off to?" 

I let out a loud bark of happiness, still not really believing my luck. 

"You'll find out in a week." 

I could've told her but I wanted to keep her guessing. I wanted this to be a surprise. I just hoped she would be as excited as I was. 

"Tease." 

I laughed out loud and finally put my phone down. I needed to actually get ready for the day ahead as I now had a plane and a villa to book. 

I knew it was risky taking Carmen to a place that could potentially be some kind of trap, but I wasn't going to allow any harm to come near her. I'd book a villa somewhere near the coast and would simply shift to the catacombs from there at night. It wasn't like we'd be able to go there in the day time anyway because of the swarms of tourists we could encounter. 

I also needed Dev to come with me, but he wasn't getting an invite to the villa. I still hadn't told him about Carmen and I wasn't planning to anytime soon. Dev was the closest demon I knew to being a friend and I trusted him to some extent, but if he accidentally let slip that I was becoming infatuated with a human female...well, I wouldn't even want to think about what would happen. My reputation was already a step away from being demolished and unfortunately Carmen was just another threat to that.

Dev would just have to shift from L.A or even perhaps find a place to stay in Rome- the further away from my secret affair, the better. 

I was just getting dressed into a black top and jeans when my phone started to ring, and I laughed again. If this was a certain lady calling up to nag me about our trip, then she would find out how stubborn I really was.

But it wasn't Carmen. The number was unknown. 

Still smiling slightly, I picked it up and answered the call. "Hello." 

"Hello. Am I speaking to Mr Axon?" 

My blood ran cold. I knew that voice. 

"Yes. Yes it is. Good morning Mrs Robbins. To what do I owe the pleasure?" 

My grin had slipped into a grimace and my mood had turned sour. She was the last person I wanted to speak to today. 

"Good morning. Yes well I am just calling to let you know that you didn't get the job. It's part of our company policy to tell applicants if they failed as well as the ones who succeeded." 

I was nonplussed. "That's a shame. May I ask why I didn't get the position?" 

"In all honesty, Mr Axon, the role isn't available anymore."

"Oh really. Why?" 

She sighed and I could detect a great deal of tiredness in her voice. Was the pressure of keeping Il Libro Dei Demoni finally getting to her? 

"There are...complications involving the company. Security complications. And it would not be wise to employ anybody new." 

"Security complications?" I was actually interested in speaking to her now. What was going on within Robbins and Co?

"Yes. I won't go too into detail due to safety measures put into place, but there have been recent dangers I have faced on a personal level. So I am closing up my circles. I am sorry for the disappointment and I hope you can find another position somewhere else." 

I could guess what she meant by dangers on a personal level: someone had tried to kill her, and my best guess was they were probably from the mafia. And that was fair enough- she'd basically done exactly the same to them. Spence's mates wouldn't just sit there and mourn their fallen friends: revenge was the only way of life many of them knew. Robbins may have found herself biting off more than she can chew. 

"Thank you. Goodbye." 

I hung up and started staring darkly into space as I began to realise what this really meant. If Robbins was being targeted that meant the situation in the mafia had turned dire enough to spark vengeance in the form of violence.  She'd earned herself a reputation and when that happened, Hell would usually hear about it, meaning that Mrs Robbins would no longer be a secret threat only Dev and I knew of. 

And that wasn't good. 

I didn't want anyone else to find out about Il Libro Dei Demoni yet. I didn't know enough about it and that made it dangerous. Who knew what damage it could do if it fell into the wrong hands? My only chance of finding the information I needed was in Italy and I wasn't going there for another week yet. I couldn't just go now because I needed to prepare myself for any kind of traps ahead. And I hadn't even thought about the fact that I actually needed to study where in the catacombs we should start our search. The Oracle didn't exactly give any specific places to start looking. 

I needed more time. And that meant I needed the L.A mafia to hold back their attacks on Robbins so that I could quieten down her growing murmur of noise. 

I knew exactly what I had to do. But convincing Spence not to take revenge on the person who had caused his friends to die would possibly be the hardest thing I'd ever done. 

Tension was building and I was right in the middle of it, staring at the fortress I had built around myself as cracks began to appear in the walls. 

My next decisions could make or break my world.