Chapter 2

Andy staggered as she willed herself into Hell. Miranda was the Guardian of New York. It explained how she could draw so much power without being thrown from the mortal plane; she had extremely strong ties to Earth. Runway, her family and friends, each severed as a connection to the mortal world so that she could draw huge amounts of power from Heaven and not be pulled to the place herself.

Andy was innately powerful herself which was the main reason she'd been tasked to defeat the angelic stronghold in New York. She didn't need to draw too much power from Hell to best Miranda but it had cost her all the same. Grimly she undid her amour, letting it fall to the floor with a clank, too exhausted to bother putting it away just yet. Her hammer was similarly treated and left in her padded undershirt and shorts she began to examine the damage. Gashes bled sluggishly from any point where her amour had joints between plates. The worse was the hit to her ribs she'd purposefully endured to catch Miranda. Narrowly missing her vital organs and lungs it still burned whenever she breathed. If they had been dealt with human blades she could have willed the damage away, but it seemed like Miranda's sword was of angelic origins. The wounds stubbornly oozed under her narrowed gaze.

"Word is you won against the Guardian of New York, so why are you bleeding all over the carpet?"

Andy grit her teeth at the intrusion. One of Lucifer's private handmaids, Amelia, still seemed to think she could enter Andy's personal chambers without invitation.

"I did win. But the Guardian was a tough opponent all the same. She did drive Lucifer himself from New York a decade ago."

"But you didn't kill her."

"No I did not."

Amelia considered the Demon Lord while she scrubbed the worst of the blood off with a rag from a basin of warm water which was quickly turning pink. Tall, with coltish legs the demon should have looked awkward with her towering horns. Somehow she fit together nicely though, her muscled arms and shoulders giving balance to what would otherwise be a thin frame. Beautiful and striking many had tried to take her to bed, including Asmodeus, Lord of Lust but she'd refused them. The eyes were all wrong though. They weren't shadowed by greed or anger like so many demons. They weren't silted and calculating.

"The Prince will be angry. She was supposed to die."

"New York is my city now. What happens there is my business. If I can convince the Guardian to turn to our side she'll be a key asset for our assault on Heaven."

"What makes you think you can turn her?"

Andy paused; the rag held firmly over her ribs and glared at the young spawn. A thin tunic and plain sandals covered the skinny frame and she seemed to have recently polished her small thumb-sized horns to sharp points. Andy ruffled her wings and tossed her horned crown before throwing down the cloth.

"Why are you here?"

"My Lord commanded me to see to your wellbeing."

"Bullshit. Why are you here?"

Andy drew on her power to command the youngling to speak the truth, swarming the small creature with energy which engulfed her, swallowed her. It wasn't often she pulled rank on underlings, and so they over stepped themselves more so with her than the more brutal of the Lords of Hell. Unfortunately for them she could and did hold a significant portion of power, yielding it as she saw fit, unwavering on the rules she'd laid down in her realm. The pitiful thing squeaked and ran rather than answer. Andy let her go too tired to bother with the young spawn. As she turned to flop into bed Andy's horns wacked into the bed post cracking the polished wood.

"Damn things…"

Muttering her curses Andy willed her horns and wings into another space outside the one she occupied. The wings she could see a practical use for, but thus far her horns had proved only rudimentary at protecting her head. They were heavy and got in her way mostly, so oversized she felt awkward and silly. A sign of power most demons let their horns grow as much as possible or accentuated them with paint and jewellery. Andy secretly relished when she could disguise herself as human to rid herself of the cumbersome burdens. The other demons mocked her for it when she didn't show her horns in Hell, and so in company and battle she dealt with them. It was all a pissing contest as far as she was concerned.

Disgusted she finally collapsed into bed. Miranda was going to be a nightmare tomorrow and she needed to find an appropriate location for the doorway to Hell on top of it.

Miranda…

The woman held a strange lure. Her commanding presence and undeniable work ethic inspired awe but it was small things that drew Andy in. Like the way she fiddled with her reading glasses, caressing her mouth. The way her eyes lit up when her children phoned her. The soft smiles that graced her often pursed lips when she thought Andrea wasn't looking. Her eyes softened as they trailed over her sometimes, which made Andy's heart flutter…

"No no no!"

Andrea pounded her pillow and rolled over with a groan. Enemy. It didn't matter who the Guardian of New York was she was Andrea's enemy. She was having a hard time remembering this crucial fact. More likely than not Andrea would have to deal with her at some point in a much more permanent manner.

She'd looked so lost, tired and sorrowful though after the demon had beaten her. Perhaps she'd been fighting so long with only two conclusions in mind, death or victory; she didn't know what to do if anything else occurred. The vulnerability she'd shown had reached Andy's heart, like when she'd seen the devastated woman in Paris, the one worried for her children. Just as she had then, she'd felt fiercely protective of Miranda.

Maybe I could convince Lucifer to spare her; she didn't seem to know anything about what's been arriving in Hell more often of late.

A small hope bloomed in her chest, warming her. This didn't have to end badly. Smiling finally Andy felt better as her frown eased. This could all be sorted out, or so she hoped.