The boat limped into the docks. All the rest of the way to England, the water demons made knock after knock after knock against the hull, in between being chased away again by the Hydra, and a few leaks had sprouted up along the way. The poor humans were tired and hungry—half of our food supplies got soaked and spoiled—and they were more than a little bit grumpy. When we spilled out onto the docks, we headed straight to Lilith’s base. It was only a mile from shore and a welcome relief.

I knew Ramiel wanted to go straight to Berith’s castle, and I did, too. But we owed it to these humans to find a safe space for them to rest. A roof over their heads. Clean clothes and food. Lilith’s home would provide that for them, and it would give us a base while we tracked down the amulet.

Lilith had many homes scattered throughout the world, one of which was located in a small village in the Devon countryside. Rolling hills spread out on every side of us, the farmland now transformed into fields upon fields of untamed bushes and grass. The village itself wasn’t much more than a few buildings clustered together around the High Street. A butcher’s and a post office, plus a pub that had gone out of business a long, long time ago. In fact, every single building was boarded up and abandoned.

Lilith’s house was a five minute walk from the main square. When we strode up the quiet English street, I was impressed to find a large three-story manor type house with a picket fence and a quaint garden full of herbs and flowering plants. There was a little hut just off to the left of it, and the door cracked open as we all approached, looking bedraggled and war torn. But the whole place looked…alive. Splashes of color were everywhere, and the wooden chairs in the garden looked homey and well-worn. A warmth settled over my bones. This place would do. It would very much do.

A short little man with a thin patch of reddish hair poked out his head and gazed our way. He took one look at the tired humans and then one look at us, and for a moment, I thought he would scream and run. But instead, a smile donned his face and he nodded. Wrinkles creased the skin around his eyes, the kind that showed he’d spent many days of his long life smiling.

“Ah, welcome. Welcome. I’ve been expecting you,” he said in a creaky voice that still felt warm and soothing like butter on toast.

“Expecting us?” Ramiel strode to the front of our group, his hand rested tensely on the hilt of his sword.

“Aye,” the man said, his accent thick and lilting. “You must be friends of Lilith’s. I’ve spent the last ten years of my life here, tending to her home and her garden. We’ve got plenty of fresh vegetables here. No fruit, sadly. It hasn’t fared well in this dreary weather despite my efforts.”

Lilith hadn’t mentioned the old man gardener, but it didn’t surprise me. Back in New York, she’d taken in humans at her penthouse that lined Central Park. They’d been her friends and her confidants, and she’d given them various jobs to do if they so desired. In the end, she’d had to leave them behind when we fled from Berith. More for their own safety than anything else.

“I hope it’s alright that we came here?” I said, stepping forward. “She gave us some documents that led us to here.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. Lilith told me you’d be coming.”

I frowned and exchanged a glance with Ramiel. “How would she have known?”

Did demons have some kind of premonition? Had she seen exactly how all of this would unfold that day when Berith had attacked us? And, if that were the case, had she known she would die? Why hadn’t she tried to stop it? Why hadn’t she said something to us? If only she had, maybe we could have prevented it from even happening.

My mind was churning, my heart fluttering in my chest, even though I didn’t truly understand what the gardener was saying.

The old man cleared his throat, leaned a long-handled shovel against the fence, and hobbled over to where we all stood staring at him. His light blue eyes were kind from afar, but even kinder up close. There was a twinkle there, the kind of lightness that could only be genuine. It was a shock to see, something I certainly hadn’t seen in any of the humans I’d met so far. It was as if the apocalypse and the demons were a distant memory.

“You know, back in the olden days, before the demons invaded and all, way before my time.” He sniffled, but then gave me a broad smile. “We humans had these crazy contraptions called telephones. You ever hear of them up there in your celestial skies?”

I exchanged a glance with Ramiel, and then nodded. “We were taught the basics about humanity. You could talk to people across long distances.”

“That’s right.” He turned away then, and nodded at the house. “So you won’t know that Lilith made it through that awful attack. She’s in there. She’s still healing, but she’s alive.”

My breath felt as though it had been knocked from my lungs. I was halfway to the house before someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I whirled on my feet to find Ramiel shaking his head, his eyes dark and hooded, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

“Let go of me.” I yanked against his grip, but he was far stronger than me. “I have to go to Lilith.”

“This could be some sort of trap,” he said in a low rumble. “I saw Berith kill her with my own eyes.”

There was the sound of a door opening from behind us. A rustle, and then a soft sigh. “It’s not a trap.”

Her voice was music to my ears. The sound I made was something between a cough, a snort, and a gasp. Ramiel’s eyes lifted toward the door behind us, and his lips quirked up just the slightest in the corners. I whirled on my feet, heart hammering hard in my chest. Lilith stood in the doorway, her long red hair spilling around her shoulders in thick waves. Her eyes were bright but tired, and she stooped as though a heavy weight pushed down on her shoulders. But she was alive. She was very much alive. I could scarcely believe it, even though I could see her, with my own two eyes, standing right there before me.

“Lilith?” I breathed. “You’re alive?”

She nodded, but then winced. “Only barely. I have…a lot of healing to do. Come on inside. I’ll explain everything.”

* * *

Inside, Lilith eased into a recliner, one that was a far cry from her antique wing-backed chairs and red velvet cushioning that she’d collected in New York. This one looked more like a pile of dirty napkins. Still, she sighed in relief as she sunk into the soft cushions. “I hate the aesthetics of this chair, but I cannot deny it’s comfortable. My body is healing, and I didn’t have the strength to argue when Harry insisted I borrow his recliner.”

“How did you?” I knelt before her. “When did you? What did you?”

She let out a light chuckle. “Berith blinked me away after he slit my throat, once he sensed that it wasn’t going to kill me. I suppose he didn’t want you to realize I was alive. He likely hoped you’d make an emotion-fuelled response.” She cracked open an eye and lifted a brow. “Did you?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” I grinned.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I, ah…” Lilith didn’t know the truth of me. She hadn’t been there when my arms had caught fire, mostly because she was the reason it had happened in the first place. My emotions had been raw and far too real, and it had transformed me into a walking fireplace. Out of all the friends I had in the worlds, it should be easiest to tell Lilith what I was, her being a demon herself and all, but…well, Lilith didn’t particularly like demons any more than I did, even though she was one herself.

She was an exception, and I didn’t know what I would do if she turned me away, not after thinking she was dead, not after mourning for her as I had.

“There’s something you should know about me.” I took a deep breath. “I’m part fire demon.”

For a moment, Lilith just stared, and then she nodded. “That explains a lot, but why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I only found out when you died. You know that whole emotional reaction you were asking me about? I might have burst into flames. And then launched a fireball at our least favorite Archdemon, who then burned to a crisp.”

Her eyes softened. “Oh, Erela. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to tell you I was alive. There wasn’t much I could do. He blinked me into England, and I haven’t been in any state to travel. I knew you’d come here. Eventually.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem to be at all surprised or weirded out that I’m a fire demon.”

“Because I’m not.” A smile. “It makes a lot of sense. You always seemed different to me, like there was more to you than met the eye. I was right.”

We both grinned, though a tear slid down my cheek. More from joy than anything else. Lilith’s own eyes were glassy, and I had to wonder how alone she must have felt these past few weeks, wanting to contact us but not being able to do anything but sit here in her house being looked after by her kindly old gardener.

“Now,” she said, clearing her throat and blinking away her glassy tears. A determined expression settled over her face. Now, she looked like Lilith. All business. “What the hell are we going to do about that portal to hell?”

“We’re hoping you can help us out with that,” Ramiel said, coming up behind me to rest a comforting hand on my shoulder. He’d been standing in the room, listening and watching our entire exchange. But strangely, I didn’t mind. He had seen my rawest emotions far before now. “Did you happen to see anything when he brought you here?”

“He originally took me to his castle, and yes.” She let out a shuddering breath. “The portal isn’t there, but the amulet is. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about it because of my wounds. I do believe there might have been some booby traps.”

I arched a brow. “Booby traps?”

“To be honest, it’s all very fuzzy because I was halfway dead. Still, I tried getting to the amulet myself. I think he must have rigged the room so that it was next to impossible. Maybe some boulders came out of the ceiling?”

“That sounds…lovely,” I said dryly.

“Sounds like a challenge to me,” Uriel said as he strode up behind us. I glanced over my shoulder to catch his lopsided smile and wink. “I think all six of the Order combined can figure out a way to get past an asshole demon’s booby traps, don’t you, Erela?”

“The Order might be six, but count seven in your plans. If you’re going after the amulet, I’m coming with you.” Lilith pushed up in her chair, and her eyes went razor sharp. “I just need one thing to fully heal me, and then I’ll be ready to go. But I might need your help. I need someone who is willing to share it. I only deal in strict consent, and Harry is worried he’s too old to endure any loss.”

Huh? I cocked my head, frowning at her. It was like she was talking in riddles or speaking an entirely different language.

“What in the world are you talking about?”

Her teeth glittered when she smiled. “I need blood.”