{"id":406,"date":"2011-08-17T11:59:33","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T16:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/?page_id=406"},"modified":"2011-08-17T13:00:14","modified_gmt":"2011-08-17T18:00:14","slug":"night-out","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/?page_id=406","title":{"rendered":"Night Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story takes place between the events of\u00a0BLACK WINGS<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0BLACK NIGHT<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Christina Henry<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go to the movies,\u201d Beezle announced.<\/p>\n

I looked up from my calculator and checkbook, where I was desperately trying to create a positive balance out of thin air and willpower. Gabriel had given me the rent check, but the motor on the dryer had broken the same week that my stupid annoying half-brother had lobbed three rat demons through the glass on my front door.<\/p>\n

Because the rat demons were so small they were kind of exempt from the crossing-the-threshold rule that kept bigger supernatural creatures from busting up my abode. Well, exempt in the sense that their magic was so minor they could cross a threshold if they were forced through it \u2013 say, if a half-demon threw them with enough power to shatter the glass.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I\u2019d had to get the door repaired, which cost way more money than it ought to, and then I\u2019d spent the next two days hunting down the rats in the walls before they made little rat-demon babies and got into Beezle\u2019s popcorn stash. I\u2019d just managed to destroy the last of them and determine that the house was clear when the dryer started smoking.<\/p>\n

All in all, it had not been my best week ever, and now my gargoyle wanted to leave the house and go to the movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you want to go to the movies?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see Toy Story 3\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do,\u201d I said flatly.<\/p>\n

Beezle tipped his chin up defiantly. \u201cYeah. So?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you wait for the DVD?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMovie popcorn is way better than microwave.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sighed. \u201cGabriel probably won\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beezle snorted. \u201cThe devil isn\u2019t even at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe isn\u2019t? Where did he go?\u201d That was surprising. Very surprising. Gabriel was under orders from both Lucifer and Azazel to stay with me at all times. If I was home, he was supposed to be home. If I was out, he was supposed to go out with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got a call about a half hour ago and rushed out.\u201d Beezle shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to keep track of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s his job to keep track of me,\u201d I said, irritated. I don\u2019t particularly enjoy having a shadow with me all the time, even one as ridiculously hot as Gabriel, but I didn\u2019t want him to get in trouble with the biggest, baddest fallen angel of all. \u201cHow do you know he got a phone call? You\u2019re supposed to be in your perch, not snooping around the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor your information, he was standing on the porch at the time.\u201d Beezle sniffed. \u201cYou act like I\u2019m an peeping Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we going to the movies or not? There\u2019s a show that starts at 7:15.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not supposed to go anywhere without Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beezle made a pfffing noise. \u201cSince when do you need his permission to go to the movies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, feeling reckless. \u201cYeah. I got along fine on my own before Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n

I glanced at the clock. We had an hour to make the show, which was more than enough time to walk the twelve blocks or so to the theater and collect enough popcorn to satisfy my needy gargoyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right. Let me get my coat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d Beezle shouted, pumping his fist in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you have to be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIncognito at the movie theater. I know, I know,\u201d Beezle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously. You don\u2019t want to scare any kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got it, I got it.\u201d He rubbed his hands together. \u201cI want the biggest popcorn they have. The one with all the free refills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are out of your tiny mind if you think that I\u2019m getting up a hundred times during the movie to refill the bag,\u201d I said as I pulled my coat and scarf on. I yanked a knit cap over my curly mop and Beezle settled in on my shoulder as we walked out and down the staircase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be awesome,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope Lucifer and Azazel don\u2019t find out,\u201d I said, trying not to be worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d Beezle said. \u201cWhat could go wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

I stepped out on to the front porch and stopped short.<\/p>\n

There was a dragon on my front lawn, and it did not look happy to see me.<\/p>\n

I turned to Beezle and glared at him. \u201cYou had to say something.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gave me his best injured look. \u201cIt\u2019s not my fault!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018What could go wrong?\u2019\u201d I mimicked. \u201cThere\u2019s a freaking dragon on the lawn!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no,\u201d Beezle said. \u201cIt\u2019s actually a demon that bears a superficial resemblance to a dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resemblance appears more than superficial to me,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

The demon in question wasn\u2019t a humongous medieval-type dragon \u2013 thank the Morningstar, because I don\u2019t know how I would have explained that to my neighbors. As it was I hoped none of them were looking out the windows.<\/p>\n

The dragon-demon was about seven feet long and a little over four feet high. It looked vaguely like illustrations I\u2019d seen of Chinese dragons \u2013 the snout was long and the face was dotted with patches of fur over the eyes and at the jaw. It had black scales, nasty-looking curved claws, and murderous red eyes glaring at me. Long incisors protruded from its mouth like a saber-toothed cat\u2019s.<\/p>\n

It stood with its forelegs on my front walk and its back end on the grass of my lawn, and the stance very clearly said, \u201cYou ain\u2019t going nowhere.\u201d The snow had melted beneath its feet and the grass underneath the demon was scorched and blackened.<\/p>\n

The dragon swayed slightly, side to side like a cobra. And then it opened its mouth.<\/p>\n

I called up my magic in time to cover us with a shield, expecting to get blasted by a stream of fire. Instead, the dragon emitted a disgusting, tarry paste that it coughed out in short bursts that reminded me of paintballs shooting from a gun. The paste splattered against the shield, and since the shield was smallish and hastily formed some of the gunk landed on the sleeve of my coat.<\/p>\n

It burned through the fabric where it touched, and kept going right on through until it reached my skin, where it burned through that, too. I gritted my teeth against the pain, which felt like it was going through to the marrow of my bones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just freaking great,\u201d I muttered. \u201cI can\u2019t afford to replace this coat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t afford to replace me, either,\u201d Beezle said. \u201cSo maybe you want to deal with that dragon demon before it eats us or burns us to death or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

I waited for the dragon to pause in its emission of gross acid paste balls. I hastily dropped the shield and launched a blast of nightfire directly into the dragon\u2019s open mouth.<\/p>\n

The dragon\u2019s eyes widened for a moment, then it made a retching noise like a cat with a hairball in its throat. And then it blasted the nightfire right back at me.<\/p>\n

I dove out of the way as my own nightfire came back and blasted the porch steps. Shattered wood flew everywhere. I felt Beezle digging his claws into my shoulder so that he wouldn\u2019t be dislodged as I landed on the lawn and got a mouthful of dirty snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that didn\u2019t work,\u201d Beezle remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could do something helpful instead of commenting on my performance,\u201d I snapped, rolling to my back and up to my feet in time to see the dragon open its mouth for another shot.<\/p>\n

So nightfire wouldn\u2019t work, and I didn\u2019t really have a lot of other weapons in my magical arsenal since my insane great-grandmother had stopped possessing me. What I did have was my mother\u2019s silver dagger, which I always carried in my boot.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet clear, Beezle,\u201d I said, and jumped out of the way of another dragon blast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat for?\u201d he said as I pulled out the dagger.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine, stay there while I get really close to the demon,\u201d I said, shuffling back and forth like an idiotic video game character trying to avoid the dragon\u2019s acid shots.<\/p>\n

He launched from my shoulder with a surprising amount of speed for a really fat gargoyle. The dragon was momentarily distracted by Beezle\u2019s flight, which was exactly what I needed.<\/p>\n

I took about three seconds to shape a shield over my hand and forearm. Then I ran at the dragon with the dagger, aiming for its eye.<\/p>\n

The dagger\u2019s tip pierced the soft flesh, slid cleanly through to the dragon\u2019s brain. I released the handle as something inside the demon short-circuited and it began to thrash around. I took several hasty steps backwards as the acid gunk spewed out of the wound in its eye and burned pretty much everything it touched.<\/p>\n

Beezle landed on my shoulder as I watched the monster in its death throes. \u201cYou used me as a distraction on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d I said. \u201cYou might as well be useful now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beezle sniffed. \u201cI am useful. I\u2019m your home guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you were doing your job instead of making me drag your heavy butt to the movies then I wouldn\u2019t have walked outside to this lovely surprise,\u201d I said, indicating the dragon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarrumph,\u201d Beezle said, which meant he had nothing to smart to say for a change.<\/p>\n

The dragon stopped moving abruptly, and there was a great exhalation of steam from its mouth. The wound in its eye still flowed, but sluggishly now rather than in arterial spurts.<\/p>\n

I felt a pang of loss when I saw that my mother\u2019s dagger had melted into the dragon\u2019s eye. It was one of the few meaningful objects I owned that had belonged to her.<\/p>\n

Beezle saw where I was looking, and it was as if he could read my thoughts. \u201cOn the other hand, she wouldn\u2019t have wanted you to get eaten by the dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said, but it was hard not to feel like I\u2019d lost a little bit of her all over again. I sighed, then pulled myself together. I had to get the dragon carcass off my lawn, and Beezle certainly wasn\u2019t going to do it for me.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes of heated arguing we finally decided the best place for the dragon was in the backyard under the gigantic pile of dead leaves I\u2019d never bothered to bag and dispose. The leaves were presently moldering under a coating of snow so hopefully they would be good camouflage until I could come up with another solution for the rotting corpse of a dragon.<\/p>\n

I found my heaviest pair of leather work gloves and double layered them with regular knit gloves to protect my hands, then tried very hard not to touch anywhere on the dragon that had acid goop on it. I spent fifteen minutes wrestling the thing down the gangway and into the yard (it was HEAVY) with Beezle critiquing my methods of dragon-tugging the whole time. Then I dug a shallow hole in the back corner of my yard under the catalpa tree, dragged the carcass into it and covered it over with leaves and snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt totally looks like you\u2019ve buried a body back here,\u201d Beezle said.<\/p>\n

I looked around. There were drag marks in the snow, the ground was obviously disturbed and the smell was horrific. But it would have to do until Gabriel got back from wherever he went and could help me move the demon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m ready for a nap,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d Beezle cried. \u201cWhat about my movie?\u201d<\/p>\n

I gaped at him. \u201cYou still want to go to the movies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah! We can probably make the slightly later show \u2013 I think it starts at 7:45.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI look disgusting and I smell like rotting dragon,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo nobody will sit on our row with us. Even better,\u201d Beezle said, rubbing his little hands together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just going to annoy me until I take you, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely.\u201d He looked at me expectantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d I said. \u201cBut if anything else happens we\u2019re going home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beezle snorted. \u201cWhat could be worse than the dragon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to remember that you said that,\u201d I said as Beezle settled on my shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? It\u2019s my fault there was a dragon?\u201d he said, then he sniffed. \u201cWow, you do smell really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it. We\u2019re going inside,\u201d I said, striding toward my back door with visions of a hot shower dancing in my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, wait!\u201d Beezle shouted, flapping his hands. \u201cI\u2019ll be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stopped and looked at him. He gave me his best innocent-gargoyle eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure you know how to keep your mouth from running,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPot, kettle, black,\u201d Beezle replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd may I remind you who raised me?\u201d I said, reluctantly heading for the gangway instead of the house. Beezle would just nag at me for the next several days if he didn\u2019t get to see this film.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t say a word about how you smell like decomposing dragon,\u201d Beezle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour movie popcorn is riding on this,\u201d I said as we stepped on to the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

Our street is just off Addison, which is usually a bustling thoroughfare at any time of the day. I turned left on Addison and started walking east toward Clark. From there it was several blocks south to the movie theater.<\/p>\n

I glanced at my watch. We had about forty-five minutes to make the show \u2013 more than enough time to walk the distance. But I had a faster mode of travel.<\/p>\n

My wings emerged from my back and we winked out of sight. No ordinary mortal would be able to see us flying.<\/p>\n

I pushed off from the ground and soared above the roofs of the two- and three-flat apartments that made up the bulk of the buildings in my neighborhood. Beezle gripped my shoulder tighter with his claws.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you fly?\u201d I said. \u201cYou have wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an old gargoyle and I\u2019m tired. You would really refrain from assisting the elderly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, for crying\u2026you act like you\u2019re going to turn to stone tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could happen very suddenly,\u201d Beezle said.<\/p>\n

I saw the rooftop of the theater a few moments later and started to descend, intending to land on the sidewalk. I thought I could walk into the theater and then find a place to unobtrusively put away my wings and reappear.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I was thinking. What actually happened is that just as I was descending something slammed into me with the force of a charging rhinoceros.<\/p>\n

That something was about the size of a small dog and had disproportionately long, pointed horns. I know this because one of the horns slid through the fabric of my coat and just under the left side of my ribcage. I wanted to scream, but the breath had been knocked from my lungs.<\/p>\n

Beezle was thrown from my shoulder and I heard him cry out as he struggled to stay aloft.<\/p>\n

The creature pushed forward, driving the horn further into my flesh, and hot blood spilled out of the wound. The force of its impact had knocked me off course and I was falling feet over head down toward the alley behind the movie theater. I needed to right myself, slow my descent and get this little freak off before it poked any more holes in me.<\/p>\n

I put my hands on the creature\u2019s head and blasted it with nightfire. It screamed, a horrible, high-pitched sound, but it jerked backward. This, of course, caused it to pull the horn from my body. The horn was apparently serrated in the opposite direction, because I felt it tearing and rending as the little monster yanked it out of me.<\/p>\n

My wings flapped around for a second until I got myself under control. I landed with an ungraceful clunk in the alley, but at least I was upright. I glanced at the hole in my coat and shirt and the blood the flowed sluggishly beneath it. Not good. I was pretty sure there were some important organs under there that the monster had filleted.<\/p>\n

I dug in my coat pocket, looking for something useful to stop the bleeding. All I came up with was a single mitten and some crumpled tissues. I unbuttoned my coat and yanked up my t-shirt. The hole under my left rib was about the size of half-dollar coin and the blood was flowing out sluggishly. It looked like the edges of the wound were clotting, but the tiny monster probably had bacteria galore on its horns. I needed to be disinfected and stitched ASAP, but in lieu of that I stuffed the crumpled tissues against the hole. That was about as good a field dressing as I could manage at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I just need to figure out where that little freak got off to before he blindsides me again,\u201d I muttered, scanning the alley in all directions, including up.<\/p>\n

Either the monster had its own wings (I hadn\u2019t noticed when I was being gored) or it had been tossed at me by someone else who did. That meant it \u2013 or its master \u2013 was likely going to land on my head at any moment. And where had Beezle gotten off to?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to walk up and down the alley shouting for my wayward gargoyle and broadcasting my location, so I gently flapped my wings so I could slowly ascend up to the roof again. I gritted my teeth as I went. The wound was starting to burn.<\/p>\n

I was halfway up when I heard what sounded like a gargoyle war cry.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeezle?\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t respond, but I heard the sound of more cries and grunts. There was no point in flying sneaky anymore, so I picked up speed and followed the sounds back up to the roof.<\/p>\n

I landed on the movie theater and looked around for Beezle.<\/p>\n

My mouth dropped open.<\/p>\n

Beezle was sitting on top of the tiny horned monster, his knees on either side of the creature, and he was pounding the freak\u2019s face in with his hard little fists. Beezle was grunting with effort every time he landed a punch, and the monster was crying out when stone met flesh.<\/p>\n

I walked closer, trying to get a better look at the monster. It was kind of hard to tell exactly what it was since Beezle had rearranged its face.<\/p>\n

Its skin was dark green and bumpy and had a distinctly lizard-ish look. The horns that protruded from its head were inky black and extremely long, and it had a slightly humanoid shape. The hands and feet each had four digits and ended in claws.<\/p>\n

It was actually larger than Beezle \u2013 Beezle is about the height of a few-months-old kitten, and this creature was more the size of a Scottish terrier. But Beezle had obviously decided to use his enormous bulk to his advantage and was basically weighing the thing down.<\/p>\n

The thing stopped crying out, but Beezle kept hitting it in the face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve suffocated it,\u201d I said, and Beezle looked up.<\/p>\n

He gave me a fierce grin and sat back on his haunches, his fists still clenched. \u201cHow do you like my handiwork?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish somebody had videotaped you tackling that thing. I would have paid to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI overwhelmed it with my superior strength,\u201d Beezle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr alternatively, you launched yourself like a seal and knocked it out with your blubber, then sat on it before it had time to realize what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo methods really matter?\u201d Beezle said, studiously examining the blood under his claws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought,\u201d I said, stepping a little closer. \u201cWhat is it, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPit demon,\u201d Beezle spat. \u201cI hate these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey annoy me,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re totally subservient to their masters. I can\u2019t stand seeing a creature without any spine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTotally subservient to their masters,\u201d I repeated, scanning the rooftop. \u201cThat means somebody set it on me, and I want to know who.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I think we should just get downstairs to the movie before something else happens,\u201d Beezle said, fastidiously wiping the gore out from underneath his claws with the striped scarf he wore.<\/p>\n

I stared at him. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to wear that scarf after you\u2019re done, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he asked. \u201cI just want my claws to be clean so I can enjoy my buttered popcorn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas it escaped your notice that I am bleeding?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou seem fine. You\u2019re standing up and talking, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if I die from blood loss during the movie that\u2019s okay with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if you\u2019re going to be that way about it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am. I want a shower and first aid, not necessarily in that order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I beat the crap out of this pit demon for nothing?\u201d Beezle grumped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you consider keeping it from filleting me \u2018nothing\u2019, then I guess so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He flapped his wings and fluttered up to my shoulder. \u201cI suppose it\u2019s worth my while to keep you alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf only so that I can run to the doughnut shop for you,\u201d I replied dryly. \u201cLet\u2019s go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not certain that is a good idea,\u201d said a voice from behind me.<\/p>\n

My shoulders slumped. I hated everything about that voice and the person attached to it.<\/p>\n

I turned, reluctantly as always, to face my unwanted fianc\u00e9. He stood in a shadow cast by the taller hotel across the alley from the movie theater roof. \u201cWhat are you doing here, Nathaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned at me as he walked across the space between us. \u201cOne would think that you are not happy to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne would be correct,\u201d I muttered under my breath. \u201cAnd I say it again \u2013 why are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe he wants to see Toy Story 3,\u201d Beezle said eagerly. \u201cYou could go home, and he could take me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He drifted off when both Nathaniel and I glared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, OK, I get the picture. You don\u2019t have to try to slay me with your eyes,\u201d Beezle grumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what is it you want, Nathaniel?\u201d I sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour heart on a spit,\u201d he said, and his eyes changed from Nathaniel\u2019s ice blue to a pair of slitted pupils that I knew very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cGotcha,\u201d said Antares.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t wait for Antares to grab me. I knew once he got his claws on me he could pretty easily overpower me, even though my recent death and rebirth had made me physically stronger. I was still part human, and that mortal half of me would always be at a disadvantage when facing demon strength.<\/p>\n

I let nightfire fly from my fingertips before Antares had a chance to think. My half-brother was tossed across the roof by a bolt of blue flame. There should have been the smell of a burning flesh, but there wasn\u2019t. There should have been some kind of defense from Antares, but there wasn\u2019t. Antares was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d I asked Beezle, who was still perched on my shoulder like a pirate\u2019s parrot. \u201cI thought you were supposed to be a guardian. Why couldn\u2019t you see that it was Antares under Nathaniel\u2019s mask?\u201d<\/p>\n

Beezle was frowning in the direction that Antares had disappeared. \u201cBecause it wasn\u2019t Antares, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was it, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA spell made to look like Nathaniel, then Antares.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy couldn\u2019t you tell it was a spell?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really good spell,\u201d he said, shrugging.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think you would take your guardian duties more seriously,\u201d I sighed. \u201cSomeone is deliberately trying to ruin my night, and we still don\u2019t know who it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

I clapped my hands together. \u201cWell, that\u2019s it. Message received. I\u2019m not going to stay out here waiting for the next creepy thing to show up and try to remove my entrails through my nose. Let\u2019s go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? What about Toy Story 3?\u201d Beezle whined.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas it escaped your attention that from the moment we stepped out of the house this evening that a series of bad guys have tried to kill us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, technically, they were trying to kill you,\u201d Beezle pointed out. \u201cAnd I really want to see this movie. Everyone says it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is everyone? You don\u2019t know anybody,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Beezle huffed indignantly from his perch on my shoulder. \u201cI have friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat friends?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

He mumbled something that I didn\u2019t quite catch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook friends!\u201d he shouted in my ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re the one who\u2019s been messing with the computer. I thought it was Gabriel who kept leaving it on,\u201d I said. \u201cI hope you didn\u2019t put up a picture of yourself on your profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I did,\u201d Beezle said. \u201cBut most people think it\u2019s an avatar.\u201d<\/p>\n

I rubbed my forehead in the place where a headache was rapidly forming. I was tired and annoyed, and the crumpled tissue that I had stuffed in the wound given me by the pit demon was not going to serve as a bandage for much longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we go home now, maybe Gabriel will be there and he can heal me,\u201d I said reasonably. \u201cAnd then we can try to go to the movie another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re already here! We\u2019re standing on the roof of the movie theater!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am STILL BLEEDING!\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s nothing like the blood of an angel,\u201d a voice said behind me.<\/p>\n

I huffed out a deep breath, glared at Beezle and turned around to face the pack of vampires that were closing in on us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way you\u2019re blaming me for this,\u201d Beezle said decisively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is the gargoyle who insisted that we see Toy Story 3 tonight?\u201d I said, turning in a circle and trying to watch all of the vampires at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, nobody said you had to take me just because I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d I said. \u201cI can only imagine the whining if I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were five of them, surrounding us in a loose circle. I wasn\u2019t in the least bit surprised that they\u2019d managed to sneak up on Beezle and me while we were arguing.<\/p>\n

I was surprised, however, that they would move so openly against me. Vampire courts, like the courts of the Fallen, were very big on politics and appearances. That meant that they generally avoided messing with other species\u2019 courts unless they had a public grievance.<\/p>\n

The vampires stopped a few feet away from me, fangs glinting in the light of the streetlamps. They were all male and had the too-slick polished look that I associated with their kind, like they were heading out for a nightclub after they were done dealing with me.<\/p>\n

I could try to knock out as many as possible with nightfire before they attacked me, but if I did that then I would technically be the aggressor and there could possibly be repercussions for my father\u2019s court. Not that I cared, really, but it was annoying when Azazel called to tell me I\u2019d broken some stupid rule or other (a thing that I did with astonishing regularity) and that I had to come to court to deal with it. I would rather eat ground glass than spend three minutes in the courts of the Fallen.<\/p>\n

I looked warily around at the vampires, who seemed to be awaiting some kind of signal. I couldn\u2019t tell which one was the leader, so I continued to turn in a slow circle so that I could make eye contact with all of them. Beezle had wisely turned around on my shoulder so that he could look behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, fellas,\u201d I said heartily. \u201cOut for a night on the town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know why we are here, Agent,\u201d said one of the vampires behind me, and I spun to face him.<\/p>\n

This would be the leader, then, and if and when they decided to attack the signal would come from him. The rest of the vampires wouldn\u2019t move without his word. Like I said, vampires are very big on politics. Hierarchy is everything with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no, actually I don\u2019t. Because if you\u2019re here for an after-dinner snack then you should know better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vampire smiled unpleasantly. \u201cBecause you are the great-granddaughter of Lucifer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you want to offend the Morningstar,\u201d I said. \u201cHe can be unpleasant about such things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut offending the Morningstar is what I am after,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see, Lucifer recently killed my mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled wider, and his teeth looked terribly sharp.<\/p>\n

I nodded. \u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I did see. I saw that my stupid familial connection with the Prince of Darkness was about to get me in deep trouble, again. And if Lucifer had already given offense then I wouldn\u2019t have to worry about getting into it with Azazel if I drew first blood. And if that was the case\u2026<\/p>\n

I conjured up a ball of nightfire and threw the blue flame at the leader. The nightfire hit his chest and he instantly ignited. The vampire screamed and staggered around as the flame consumed him from skin down to bone. The air was filled with the stench of dead flesh burning.<\/p>\n

The other vampires leapt for me as soon as they saw the nightfire, but I hadn\u2019t survived being attacked by a nephilim (several times) by being a total incompetent. I turned and released nightfire so quickly that only one vampire actually managed to reach me, and then only to graze my forearm with his disgustingly long nails.<\/p>\n

I stepped away from all of the flailing, burning vampires, covering my mouth with my sleeve as acrid smoke filled the air. I didn\u2019t want any of these freaks to come after me later, half-burned and half-alive, so I waited until I was sure that they were all definitively ashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the worst thing I have ever smelled,\u201d Beezle said as he wrapped his scarf tighter around his beak.<\/p>\n

I glared at him. \u201cWe are going home now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow why would you want to do that?\u201d asked a voice from across the roof.<\/p>\n

My heart sank as the figure stepped into the light. Golden hair, black wings, and a suit that probably cost more than the value of my house. This was just what I needed to make this night from hell complete.<\/p>\n

It was Lucifer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy me? All I wanted to do was take my gargoyle to the movies like any other normal girl. And just what do you want?\u201d I asked Lucifer, giving him the dirtiest look I could muster.<\/p>\n

I probably shouldn\u2019t be provoking the Morningstar himself, especially since he\u2019d threatened to kill Gabriel the last time I saw him. But I was tired, bleeding, smelly and generally sick to death of supernatural BS.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo escort you to the movies, of course,\u201d he said, seemingly not taking offense at my tone at all.<\/p>\n

I narrowed my eyes. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you have performed admirably well tonight, my granddaughter,\u201d Lucifer said. \u201cNot many half-humans could defeat a demon-dragon, survive an attack by a pit-demon, outsmart a very clever illusion, and overcome a pack of vampires.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know that all of this happened? Were you spying on me?\u201d I asked angrily. \u201cBecause if you were, help would have been useful at any time this evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow why would I help you when I wanted to see how you would handle yourself?\u201d Lucifer grinned.<\/p>\n

I stared at him. \u201cYou mean this was some kind of test? You\u2019re the one that threw all those creatures at me? Did you make Gabriel leave the house, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucifer shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me right now why I shouldn\u2019t push you off the side of this building and laugh when you get run over by a truck,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause,\u201d Lucifer said, snapping his fingers. \u201cThe movie starts in ten minutes, and there\u2019s just enough time to get popcorn for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Lucifer snapped his fingers I felt the wound under my ribs heal. The goop that was all over me disappeared and my overcoat stitched back together. The air smelled of cinnamon, and Beezle took a deep sniff.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour hair smells like apple pie now,\u201d my gargoyle said. \u201cNow that you\u2019re clean and unwounded, can we please go to the movies?\u201d<\/p>\n

I traded a long stare with Lucifer, who quirked his eyebrow at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cBut the Prince of Darkness is paying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucifer smiled, and held out his hand to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I\u2019m going to pay for this sooner or later,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n

Lucifer laughed, and Beezle rubbed his hands together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be awesome,\u201d my gargoyle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis movie had better be worth it,\u201d I replied, and let the devil take my hand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 Christina Henry. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story takes place between the events of\u00a0BLACK WINGS\u00a0and\u00a0BLACK NIGHT. By Christina Henry \u201cI want to go to the movies,\u201d Beezle announced. I looked up from my calculator and checkbook, where I was desperately trying to create a positive balance … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":403,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-406","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465,"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/406\/revisions\/465"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christinahenry.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}