The house the taxi dropped us off at was guarded by an ornate gate, standing in the middle of a ring of greenery and flowering bushes. I could already tell by the entrance that this was going to be a beautiful home. 

Robbins lived on the outskirts of L.A, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre and I could certainly see why. There was a peacefulness here that was hard to find in the concrete jungle of office blocks and broken dreams. 

As we approached the gate I was astonished to find that it was tilted open, with no security in sight. I frowned. Didn't she tell me herself that she'd had to step up the protection? 

We slid into the compound and I couldn't help but smile at the sight that befell my eyes. Her house really was gorgeous. It wasn't as big and opulent as the places in Bel Air or the homes of the mafia, but it was just as beautiful, perhaps even more so. 

The front garden was a reasonably-sized courtyard with a marble fountain right at the centre, water trickling down from its grey heights into a basin. A car was parked on a gravel path going around the fountain, but Mrs Robbins was clearly a keen gardener as the vehicle was completely incongruous to the rest of the garden. Beautiful flowers and different types of small trees surrounded us in every direction we could look at. 

The nature reminded me of home. And I wasn't thinking about that penthouse flat which was all style and no substance. Rather, it took me back to the rolling hills of England, where there were places that had nothing but green for miles and miles- far away from any prying eyes or crushing shadow. I missed it deeply, and I knew that if I could ever get away from all this chaos, all this madness, then I would return and never look back. 

The garden wasn't the only point of beauty, however. The house itself was a classic cottage made of pale wood which wouldn't have looked out of place in some romantic comedy, with its stately windows and homely front door welcoming visitors. Ivy occasionally snaked around parts of the house but it was trimmed to perfection, clearly only there for house vanity. A part of me felt like I was looking at a postcard. 

We started to make our way to the front door when we were interrupted by a shout. 

"Roman?" 

I turned to my right where the call had come from and I stopped short, stunned by the sight in front of me. 

"Spence?" 

Why the hell was he here, walking side by side with none other than Darcy Robbins? Last time we talked he was planning to kill her, not have an afternoon walk with her around the garden. What was going on? 

"Mr Axon? Carmen? What are you two doing here?" She asked before Spence could reply, but he looked as dumbstruck as I did. I guessed he wasn't expecting me to just stroll in either. 

I was thinking about where to start but my opportunity to answer was taken out of my hands by none other than Carmen herself. 

"Oh well my boyfriend turns out to be a human-demon hybrid who is trying to stop Satan from becoming the Antichrist by finding some ancient book that you happen to have before he does, and if Lucifer's demonic bounty hunters find us then we're going to die a horrible, painful death. Anyway, would you mind if I used your toilet?" 

Nobody answered her. Like me, Robbins and Spence had been stunned into silence. 

"Please," she added, looking a bit regretful of her outburst. "I forgot to go before we came." 

Darcy finally regained herself. "Yes of course. I suppose we all better go in." 

After I finished my explanation of who I was and why I was here, I leaned back into the cosy sofa I was sat on, tiredness creeping in. I felt like I'd been talking about myself too much nowadays. Usually I never divulged information and the amount I'd been telling people was exhausting. It made me feel vulnerable and I hated it. 

Carmen had made herself pretty scarce during our talk, instead opting to make tea for everyone to avoid the awkwardness. It wasn't like we were all on the best of terms when this conversation started: Robbins barely knew me and I'm pretty sure Spence wasn't my biggest fan after the way I treated him and Victor. But she'd sat down for the last minute or so, quietly sipping her tea as we talked. I was glad she was still here. At least I had someone in the room who liked me. 

"Okay," Robbins started after a pause, letting the words sink in. "How...or should I say why should we trust you? If what you say is true than half of you is the most evil thing to exist on this planet." 

"Put it this way- if I wanted to kill you then you'd be dead by now." 

"But you need me for the book, so you might be waiting to get it and then kill me later."

I raised my eyebrows. "That's a good point. But if I wanted to do that then why would I bring someone I care about to the battlefield?" 

Carmen smiled and blushed slightly and Robbins turned her scrutinising gaze towards her. "Does he care about you?" 

"Yes." 

"And do you care about him?" 

"He can be a grumpy arse but most of the time...yes." 

I rolled my eyes at her as Spence laughed. "I've never felt so flattered." 

She smirked and kissed my cheek apologetically. 

"Okay, I'm convinced," Robbins said, holding her hands in the air as she smiled slightly. "But I still don't understand why you've come here." 

"Because you're getting attention. A lot of attention. And soon they're going to come for you." 

She shrugged. "With the powers of the book I am able to protect myself from demons. I'm surprised you were able to enter my home as the house is barricaded from evil." 

"But that's how the book was lost in the first place. The early church thought it made them powerful enough to protect themselves, but Satan discovered its whereabouts and used the forces of Hell to get it away from the Christians. And then he unleashed his power on them." 

"So you're saying that I'm getting cocky?" 

"Yes. In a sense," she looked nonplussed by my honesty. "There should be something in the book about hiding it from unwanted eyes." 

"Okay. Is there time to look tomorrow? I have to pick up my husband and drive him to the airport. I booked him a trip abroad as its been getting dangerous here- not that he knows anything about it." 

I laughed. "Yeah that's fine. I've asked my assistant to drop by tomorrow so that should be perfect." 

"Is it still Dev?" Spence suddenly spoke up after complete silence from him for the last fifteen minutes. 

I nodded. 

Robbins frowned. "Is he trust-able?" 

"Yes. Like me, he has risked his life to keep the discovery of Il Libro Dei Demoni secret, although I think we may have failed by now." 

She sighed. "Well, if you're sure. I'll have to take down the defences for demons temporarily in the morning then." 

"Okay." 

She stood up and started putting on her shoes, indicating that she was clearly done with the conversation. "I need to go and pick up my husband. Do you mind looking after the house Spence?" 

That meant making sure I didn't try and run off with the book. 

"Yeah that's fine." Spence looked distracted and was staring off moodily into the distance. I was burning to ask him what he was doing here but I hadn't had the chance to bring it up. Robbins had been too demanding of my attention to allow me any questions to ask. 

"There are spare rooms upstairs and to your right," her lips twitched into a smirk. "I don't condone sharing a bed with your partner before marriage, but if you two wish to share I can't object. You are gifted with free will after all." 

I nodded and Carmen flushed scarlet. 

"I'll see you guys later." 

"Bye," we all said in a chorus as she walked out of the door.

There was a small moment of silence as we listened to her car start and drive off. 

"I'm going to take a nap," Carmen got up and walked out of the room. 

"Wait a minute," I said, catching up with her and grabbing her wrist before she went up the stairs. 

"What?"

"You called me a grumpy arse." 

"That's because you are one." 

I ran my tongue across my teeth and stared down at her, surprised by her sudden bout of confidence. "You know, when I first met you I thought you were an innocent who couldn't hurt a fly. Yet now I've discovered the real you it seems I couldn't have been further from the truth." 

"Am I not tame enough for your liking?" She was smiling, a giggle threatening to escape her lips.

"No. But there's always a bed up there to subdue you in." 

Her smirk turned into a glare and she slapped my chest with a loud whack. "Roman! We're not doing that here!" 

"Why not? She said we could share a bed." 

"To sleep in," she flushed red again. "Urgh. You're so annoying. I'm going to sleep." 

"With me?" 

"No! Bye!" She stormed off and my laughter followed her up the staircase until she was out of view, although she turned around once to flip me off. 

I walked back into the main sitting room with a big, goofy smile spread across face, until, that is, I caught sight of Spence, who was still brooding in the sofa chair I'd left him in. 

I changed my expression into one more serious, and sat down opposite him. "We need to talk." 

He nodded. "I know." 

"Why are you here?" I didn't hesitate whatsoever. "Last time I checked you were planning to kill Robbins, not become best buds with her." 

"Well that's exactly how it happened. Despite your warning and Victor's commands to the rest of the mafia, I came here looking for Robbins, ready to make her pay for what she did. I had the chance to kill her as well- she wasn't prepared for any humans to go after her- but I couldn't...I couldn't press the trigger. She reminded me of Nan too much. We talked and she told me she had nothing to do with the attack." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. I checked up on sources and it turns out she was telling the truth. The whole thing about them being backed by her firm was a lie. All I know is that it was some mafia group from New York." 

"Okay. But how come you're like best buds now? She lets you take care of her house and shit." 

He paused for a moment. "She...she's pointed me in the right direction towards God, and He's helping me sort out my mess of a life." 

I gaped at him. "So you're a Christian now?" 

His expression darkened. "Not quite. I still can't wrap my head around the whole concept that something as perfect as God would accept someone as damaged as me. But...I think I'm getting there." 

I nodded and looked away from him, completely surprised at what Spence had just told me. Robbins really was a miracle worker. I'd never known anyone further away from Christ then Spence, apart from maybe me. 

"I'm sorry, by the way," Spence started after a space of silence. 

"About what?" 

"About how I treated you when you showed me your power. You were right: you're still the same guy I was best mates with for years and I shouldn't have held your secret against you like that." 

I nodded. "I'm sorry about distancing myself from you. I didn't want to, but I felt like I had to." 

"I understand." He smiled for a moment. "I was in the mafia, after all. If anyone could understand something like that it would be me." 

I laughed quietly and there was another pause for a moment. 

"So you've cut your ties with the mafia then. What are you going to do with yourself now?"

He shook his head. "I'll think about that after all of this shit is over." 

I pursed my lips. I understood what that felt like.