The thought that there was even more to this divine conspiracy than she had suspected bothered Kate immensely. She had been pacing through the library and its Hell half for days now, unsuccessfully looking for anything to either take her mind elsewhere or push forward in finding out what was actually going on.

  Apollyon approached her friend in the depths of what was once known as the archive. “Kate?”

  “Hey, yes?”

  “Are you okay? You haven’t eaten today.”

  Kate took a moment before answering. “Let’s get some lunch. Actually, let’s get out of here and get some lunch somewhere in Hell.”

  “I can tell something is bothering you.”

  “It’s that fae stuff.”

  “I understand. You are right, let’s leave this pce for a while.”

  Lunch had been quiet and eventually the two demons moved to a cozy pce on Kate’s balcony, looking down at Sheol.

  “I talked to the city council members in charge of the festival.”

  Kate turned to her friend. “Good news, I hope.”

  “Very good news. They were quite happy that we are taking part in the festival, and I agreed to repce their advertisement pamphlet, since it is too te for them to order new ones. I also confirmed that the pns I told you about will actually be put into action. It is all going well on that end.”

  “That is awesome. I have something we should do the weekend before that too. Oliver’s brother usually celebrates his birthday by taking his friends to partake in a Heroes gauntlet, pying against the best pyers their store has to offer. Those pyers are hosting that gauntlet simply for fun and to allow especially younger pyers to learn how to become better. Usually, they also theme it after something relevant.”

  “And this year, the gauntlet is not happening.”

  “And I offered to run a repcement and ask some demons to put on a little show.”

  Apollyon grinned. “That will be fun. Who else do you pn to ask?”

  “The other librarians, obviously, Evelyn, Sariel, Az, and whoever else I can think of who pys.”

  “What theme do you want to go for?”

  “Isn’t that obvious? We just py into stereotypes of what we truly are. How do you like your human served after you beat them in a card game, Lord Apollyon?” Kate giggled.

  “Properly seasoned and medium rare. Or, actually, cute, nerdy, lightly dressed and looking at me longingly.”

  Kate blushed. “I can provide that ter, minus the human part.”

  “Please. And to get back to the gauntlet, you picked a good theme. No matter who you invite, we will have loads of fun just pying a little evil. Will you be part of the gauntlet as well?”

  “Oh yes. That little group knows me from back in the school days and it will be quite fun to show my new self. In human disguise, of course.”

  “I would love to see their reactions.”

  “And I can show you afterwards.”

  “Right, you can.”

  “If we want to try that a little bit before that day, there is other stuff I would love to show you.”

  “What sort of stuff?”

  “What I felt in moments that shaped my life. Seeing Hell for the first time, waking up in your bed after Arakiel nearly killed me, being turned, getting my home here. That sort of stuff.”

  Apollyon pulled Kate a little closer. “Only if you truly want me to know your innermost feelings. I won’t ask you to show me.”

  “I want you to know.”

  “I wonder, why now? Is there something that prompted that desire or has it always been there and this is just a good opportunity?”

  “There was always this little thought of maybe showing you one day. But to be honest, all that has happened recently and watching Eisheth and her sisters come back together after all those thousands of years… What gave me the push to actually ask was trying to peek into the thoughts of that fae. That mind was so alien to me, so unknowable… I couldn’t make sense of it. I realized that I can do something most can’t: share the absolute truth of how I feel. And yes, I want to do that. Especially with you.”

  “You once said that you were honoured to be my friend. Honoured to be associated with someone as important as I once was.” Apollyon shook her head. “I understand why you felt that way but I must cim that it is a greater honour to be found worthy of such intimate sharing of what is most core to you.”

  Kate took a moment before she responded. “Before I share things with you, I need to confess something.”

  “I doubt you need to, but I am open to whatever you have done.”

  “More like what I didn’t do. When we fought the angels and you engaged Uriel, the one left for me was a Watcher by the name of Kokabiel. He recognized me and asked that I just strike him down. He didn’t want to fight and was only there because he had no other choice. He wanted us to free Lilith. To make it more believable for his superiors, we exchanged a few pyful blows and then I killed him. I didn’t tell anyone. Even Az believes we properly fought.”

  “I see. Do you believe that what you did was right?”

  “Yea.”

  “Then I see no problems with your actions. What you did was better than I would have done. I am not as open as you are.”

  “Two wars against the same guys does that to you…”

  “Yes.”

  “With that off my chest, let’s get to the good emotions. Are you ready?”

  “You want to share right now?”

  “Yes, why not?”

  “I am ready. I cannot promise to be able to share in all you want to show me though.”

  “That’s alright. Might even be best to leave some good stuff for another day. You know, when you really need it.”

  “Yes, a good idea.” Apollyon closed her eyes and Kate began opening her mind to her friend, pulling her in.

  It was many hours ter when Kate awoke in Apollyon’s arms. After sharing the emotions of the first day in Hell, Apollyon was a little overwhelmed. Experiencing someone else’s emotions was not something she was used to or even able to truly imagine before. Kate had shared her comfort and peace before, but that was different. This was experiencing Kate’s memory, not just emotions in a vacuum.

  Apollyon had to get some rest afterwards. Despite being a bit overwhelmed she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and expressed her eagerness to share in Kate’s memories again soon.

  But not today. Today, Kate gently snuggled up to her sleeping devil and closed her eyes again. This was the best feeling, being at peace and cuddling the one who means the most to her.

  A mere half cycle ter, the two demons finally left Kate’s incredibly comfortable bed.

  Apollyon stretched. “I want to apologize for not getting to sex yesterday.”

  “Hey, it’s fine. We did something else amazing and I got to just cuddle a sleeping Polly for a few hours.”

  “I did not expect to be so, well, exhausted. Maybe I will eventually get used it.”

  “I am sure you will.”

  “I wanted to ask… is this what it feels like for you to read someone’s memories?”

  “Pretty much, yea.”

  “It is so dissociating.”

  “I… hm… It doesn’t feel like that to me. It’s like I’m getting immersed in a story, I know that I am not the protagonist but what happens to them has an impact on me. I’m just an observer.”

  “As part of my training I had to dabble enough in mental magic to be able to discern when someone is lying or withholding something. It never went this far. I don’t think I could go as far as you go regurly.”

  “I need to know, do think it’s intrusive when I poke into your mind?”

  “Would it be intrusive for you to see me if I was blind? I don’t think so. You can merely perceive something most others can’t. You have a sense they do not possess. A sense that I don’t possess. Using it is not intrusive to me.”

  “Humans tend to think it is.”

  “And humans have been wrong many times before. I won’t tell you that you should read minds without care for their owners, but to me it just another part of you. Another way I can be open to you.”

  “I’ve gotten used to my abilities but every so often something makes me question how I use them. Might be because we spend so much time with humans and they are scared of everything beyond them.”

  “Potentially. Just don’t let them spoil your life. They are still just fleeting beings.”

  “I do my best. At least we have some who are great company.”

  “Yes.”