Luc chuckled and shook his head with a rueful smile. “I wish! That would make my life so much easier. No, we’re actually not so impressive once we’re fallen. We’re basically immortal. We’re stronger and faster than humans, but that’s about the extent of it.”
Katia nodded. “Okay, so what about me? We’ve established that demons, Satan, and fallen angels are real, which is blowing my mind by the way. But why would Satan want me? I’m just…me.” Pausing for a moment and frowning, Katia thought back to all the times she had felt different, similar but apart, from all those around her. “I mean, I’ve always felt…different, but you asked what I was.”
Sighing, Luc nodded. “My aura. You shouldn’t have been able to see it. Humans can’t see it — only others from our world. Then there’s Satan’s interest in you. He can't reap humans who haven't sold their soul, and you clearly didn't.”
“So, if I’m not human, then what am I? And hell no on the soul-selling.”
“I’m not sure. Your wrist healed really fast. Far faster than most mortal demons, more like an immortal.”
“Demons aren’t immortal?” Katia asked.
“No, most demons are mortal. I mean, there are exceptions to every rule. Vampires, for example. For the most part demons are extremely long-lived; the average life span is around eight or nine centuries.”
Katia looked down at her wrist again, the marks had continued to lighten. “There’s just one problem. This has never happened before. Are you sure you didn’t do anything to make it heal faster?”
“What do you mean it’s never happened before?”
“Well, I’ve cut myself and it’s taken days to heal. I’ve had stitches. I broke bones as a kid. Everything always healed normally. The only thing that’s been different are my eyes and my aging. For some reason I haven’t changed much in the last decade or so.”
“Hmmm, I wonder why you healed differently this time. The aging makes sense. Generally that process stops when you hit your physical peak. Your eyes I can’t explain; they’re unique.”
Katia gave a self-deprecating laugh. “If by ‘unique’ you mean freakish, then yes, they are.”
“Never say that. They make you different…special,” he said emphatically.
Looking back up at Luc, Katia smiled. For someone who had frightened her only a few hours before, she was finding herself increasingly at ease with this man…no, not a man, an angel.
“There is one other thing. Your friend Sergei.”
“What about him?”
“He’s a witch.”
Katia’s eyebrows hit the ceiling. “A what?”
Luc’s lips twitched. What was it about this woman that made him want to smile and laugh? Maybe it had just been far too long since he’d seen someone have a genuine reaction to something, too long since he’d seen true surprise and shock. Life among creatures that lived for centuries precluded novelty. Most of his acquaintances had seen and done it all before. “That family ring he wears belongs to the Romanov family of witches. It’s passed down from eldest son to eldest son. I’m sure his interest in you is personal, but it’s also likely he’s realized you’re different.”
Katia sat stunned. Even Sergei wasn’t who he appeared to be. Her world was spinning out of control. Was there anything about her life that could be taken at face value? Was Sergei really interested in her? Or had his persistence in having a relationship with her been about a desire to figure out what she was? They had been friends for years and yet he had likely hidden vital personal information from her. Anger boiled up inside her.
Katia was clenching and unclenching her fists. Seeing the look of betrayal on her face, Luc decided a distraction was in order. It was time to let her in on the plan the group had come up with while she had been sleeping. “Listen, you’ll get a chance to confront him about this soon. Amir’s going to take us to Sergei. We’re going to need his help. I can’t keep you here or Satan will find you and send someone else to finish the job. We've got to head topside.”
“Topside? Right, you said something about hell before. So, that’s where we are? Not what I expected.” She said looking around Luc’s bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, but looked entirely normal.
“Outer-Sheol. We’re technically in what humans would call limbo, but it’s just a city like any other.” Rising from the bed, Luc walked over the widow and drew the blinds, revealing a view of the city. Katia took in the high-rise buildings, gas-lit streets, and falling twilight. Standing, Katia moved to Luc’s side at the window.
“When do we head out?” She said tilting her head up to look him in the eye.
Taking out his phone, Luc fired off a quick message. “As soon as Amir’s free.”
Chapter Ten
Placing her hand lightly on Amir’s shoulder, Katia stepped out of the swirling grey mists of the shadow world. Luc stepped out on Amir’s other side. As the trio hit the pavement in the alley behind Sergei and Katia’s condo building, Katia let out the breath she had held. That had been the most strange and amazing experience of her life. Though it had been a short trip through the ghostly fog that had twisted around them, Katia had been tempted on more than one occasion to reach for Luc’s hand. She hadn’t been afraid, but the strangeness of it all had her wanting the comfort of contact, something real and tangible in that world of smoke and mist. The solidity of the real world was like a slap in the face in comparison. Katia blinked at the harshness of the smells, colors, and textures. Judging by the light on the horizon, she figured it was
