The neighborhood was in a posh section of the city, all brick townhouses and specialty shops. My nose led me in the direction of a small park. Swings fluttered in the low breeze, their chains creaking ominously as I walked past.

I followed the scent to what looked like an upscale community center. Turning one final corner I found its owner, its back turned to me. It was leaning into a narrow space, maybe a custodial entrance, growling.

I cleared my throat with gusto. It twitched and whipped around, its thinning hair following the motion of its massive head to settle in a ludicrous forward comb over. I would have laughed, but I didn't want to try my luck. It considered me for a moment and then began to turn back to that narrow space.

"Oi! You!"

It swung around again, eyes flashing.

"Yah, you!" I stepped forward.

It straightened up, an unsightly movement that agitated the rolls of fat hanging off its arms and torso. Greed and Gluttony are a whole new definition of ugly, let me tell you. The Greed demon lurched forward, faster than you would expect given his obese form and squat, bowed legs.

I stood still, waiting for him to charge me. He picked up speed, reaching out to grab me with his fat fingers, but I dodged him at the last second. He spun around, snarling in fury, and started another pass. I dodged him again, waiting for the anger to build up in his pea-sized brain. Here Henry had taught me well - I knew that if I drove his fury to a fever pitch, any sort of strategy he may have had would crumble in favor of blind rage. A couple more swipes and the Greed demon hovered in place, his eyes popping out of his head in a maniacal frenzy, breathing labored. Now was my chance.

I took off, circling him twice while placing carefully aimed blows at his kidneys (or really where his kidneys would have been were he human) and neck. The beast fell to his knees and I threw in a nice pot shot across the face for good measure. It looked so pathetic, huddled there on the ground, I might have felt sorry for it. A rookie mistake, not one I was intent on repeating here.

I let the light begin to flow. The demon raised its head, its eyes still bulging – but I saw the moment of comprehension cross its features. Another minute and he was erased.

I felt the need to purge almost instantly. After a few more minutes I sat there on the grass, watching the evil evaporate. It wasn't until I finally dismissed my aggression and relaxed that I realized something was off.

My ears pricked at a faint sniffling sound. It was coming from the direction of that narrow space the Greed demon had been so preoccupied with. I stood up slowly. Whatever it was, it was crammed so far into that small opening that I couldn't see it from where I was standing. I tested the air cautiously. Wait…

Human?

I looked around, but the park and street were empty. With more confidence I strode over to the opening. That sniffling sound – it came from a little boy huddled back in the corner. I could feel the fear radiating off of him.

I hesitated. I looked back at the park and the street; there must be an adult somewhere around here. It was three in the morning, what was this kid doing out all by himself?

The sniffling stopped. Before I knew it little arms were wrapped around my waist and a little face was buried in my stomach. I think my heart skipped a beat. What do I do? I don't know anything about kids!

Still with hesitance, I patted his brown curls and put my arm around his shoulders. "It's alright…"

The little boy sniffed again, very loudly. I melted, even as I was imagining what the state of my shirt was going to be when this was over.

"Hey," I gently took a hold of his arms and pulled them away. Kneeling down in front of him, I wiped away a few tears with my thumb. "What's your name?"

Another sniff: "Sammy."

"Hi Sammy, my name's Charlie."

An expression of seriousness took over his features. "Charlie's a boy's name."

I laughed – this kid had to be resilient. "Not always… What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Seriousness was quickly replaced with guilt; he shuffled his feet. "I dunno."

I sighed. Maybe a different tack: "How old are you?"

"Six."

Suddenly it occurred to me – the Greed demon. "Sammy, can you tell me what happened here?"

His chin dropped to his chest. Great thinking…

I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to meet his eye line. "Hey, look at me."

He raised his head just a little.

"Hey – you're safe with me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

His chin rose a little more and his eyes darted over my shoulder. "Did you…kill it?"

With conviction: "Yup, it's gone. Never coming back."

He sniffed again and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "You're a monster too."

I had to give him credit; he was perceptive. I wonder how much he had seen. "Not the same kind of monster," I assured him.

"What kind of monster are you?"

I stopped to think. If I told him I'd only be setting him up for years of therapy, right? His face was earnest as he wiped away the last remaining tear. I could still feel a thin blanket of fear wrapped around his small frame. I thought about the Greed demon and my own crippling fear of the dark at that age.

With new resolve, "I'm a good demon."

"Demon…" He squinted his eyes, "Prove it."

I couldn't help but laugh. I liked this kid. "You don't believe me? How can I prove it?"

"Do you have super powers?"

I smiled, "I do."

"Like what?"

I paused for a moment. I didn't want to scare him any more – then again he seemed to be handling things just fine so far. Start with something simple.

"I can make myself invisible. Would you like to see?"

He said yes, but I could see in his eyes that he doubted me. I slipped into see-through mode and his mouth flew open. I laughed and allowed my opacity to return.

"Believe me now?"

"How did you do that?"

I shrugged, grinning. "Magic."

He smiled and asked boldly, "What else can you do?"

"Umm…I can run."

"That's not a super power…"

"It is the way I do it."

He looked at me again with doubt in his eyes.

"Would you like to see?"

"Yes!"

"Alright," I pointed to the swings across the park, "Watch the swing set." I booked it over to the swings and settled in a seated position on the top bar. I waited for a few moments to be sure he could see me and then rushed back.

"Well?"

"Thatwasawesome!Howdidyougetupthere?Howfastwereyougoing?Canyoumakemedothat?Areyouasuperhero?Whatelsecanyoudo?"

"Whoa, whoa," I barely got a word out of his torrent of questions. "One question at a time, tiger." I could see I had whipped his little brain into a frenzy. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… The fear was definitely gone, though.

"What else can you do?"

I gave him a serious look. "I'll show you, but first I want you to tell me what you're doing out here."

His chin dropped again and he stayed silent, shuffling his feet.

"Sammy, Sammy – look at me. I'm here to help, but I can't help if you won't tell me what's wrong."

Now the guilt poured off of him.

I tried again: "Do you live around here?"

He nodded, staring at the ground.

"Ok…So why are you in the park instead of in bed?"

He still wouldn't look at me. "You'll get angry…"

"Sammy, I promise I won't get angry."

He worked the toe of one of his sneakers into the concrete sidewalk. "I ran away."

The way he said it was so solemn I had to choke back a laugh. He was only six! "Why did you run away?"

He looked like he might cry again and all of my previous amusement dissipated.

"C'mon Sammy, you can trust me."

He sniffed and then his little life story came flooding out:

"I was playing with my ball in the living room even though mommy said not to sniff and Scottie stole it from me and I was trying to get it back and I knocked over the lamp and it broke sniff and I didn't know what to do so I pushed it under the couch and I didn't mean to I swear sniff and it's mommy's favorite she says so every day and I broke it and so I ran away because it's mommy's favorite and I didn't mean to sniff and when she finds out she won't love me anymore."

His sincerity just about broke my heart. "Sammy…"

He sniffed again and a few more tears fell.

"Hey…I don't think your mommy cares more about a lamp than she does about you. I bet your parents are really worried wondering where you are right now."

"I didn't mean to…"

"I know you didn't. I bet if you explained it to your mommy she would understand."

"She's gonna be mad."

I nodded. "She might. But you know what? You can't just run away when things look tough. You've gotta fight through it."

He wiped his eyes. "Like with the monster?"

I smiled, "Just like with the monster. Can I take you home now?"

"You said you were going to show me more powers."

"I did, didn't I. Ok – but this is the last one and then we walk you home, deal?"

"Ok…but make it a good one!"

"Cheeky…" I stood up tall, "This is my favorite." I withdrew my wings and spread them in a straight horizontal line.

I think Sammy blew a fuse. His mouth hung wide open. I laughed – who was I kidding? This was fun.

"Well? What do you think?"

"You can fly?" He threw his arms up.

"Yup." I angled one wing toward him so he could feel the soft black feathers.

"Whoa…"

"C'mon, let's get you home."

"I wanna see you fly!"

"It's too dark, Sammy, you wouldn't be able to see me."

"Aw man…"

"Come on." I put my wings away and turned towards the park. Sammy hurried up beside me and grabbed my hand. I froze, if only for a demon moment, not expecting that explicit display of trust. I didn't quite know what to do with it. "Which way are we going?"

"This way," he pointed down the street to the left.

We walked a bit and then out of nowhere:

"You kill monsters."

Trying to hide my shock, "Yes..."

"Is that your job?"

"Yes."

He tugged on my arm. "You gotta meet Billy, he's never gonna believe me…"

I cut him off, finally realizing I may have painted myself into a corner. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute…" I stopped walking and kneeled down in front of him again. "Sammy, listen to me, it's very important. You can't tell anybody about me, ok?"

"Why not?"

"Because what I am, what I do, is a secret. I can't do my job if everybody knows about me – do you understand?"

"But…"

I scrambled for a comic book reference. "It's just like Bruce Wayne and Batman – get it? I have to have a secret identity."

He considered my hurried argument for a moment. I sat on my haunches trying to remember why I had thought this was a good idea in the first place.

"So you hafta stay secret so the bad guys won't get you?"

"Exactly. I need your help to keep me a secret."

His eyes brightened, "I can do that!"

I smiled in relief, "Good." I started to stand when another little epiphany hit me. "Sammy," I looked at him with all seriousness, "I don't want you thinking that all demons are good."

His brows furrowed. "But you said…"

"Sammy – demons are evil, they're not like me." I showed him my fangs and let my eyes bleed black. "If you ever see something with teeth like this or eyes like mine, you run – ok?"

"Ok…"

"It's important Sammy, promise me you will."

"I promise."

"Good boy."

A quick sigh of relief and we started walking again. I could see the flashing lights of a police car off in the distance. I made sure to keep us out of sight as we approached the house. The car was parked in front of one of the town houses. All the lights were on and I could see a group of people pacing through the bay window on the second floor. Sammy was gripping my hand; he wore a heavily chastened look on his face. I kneeled down one last time:

"Hey – see, I told you they'd be worried about you."

"They're gonna be mad."

I turned him to face me, "I bet they're gonna be happy just to see you."

"Hmm…"

He looked back at the town house and I squeezed his hand. "Ready?"

Turning back to me, "Will I see you again?"

I faltered a little, "You never know. Don't forget – you promised."

His little face went stern, "It's a secret."

"That's right, now off you go." I gave him a little shove out of the shadows.

"Bye."

I smiled, "Bye Sammy, be good."

He smiled back and then he turned and ran across the street and up the steps. He had to reach to hit the buzzer. I stood up and voided my opacity. The door opened and a man reached out to grab Sammy, a tearful woman not far behind him. A small dog ran in and out between their legs, barking. I laughed quietly to myself; that must be Scottie. A lump grew in my throat as mother and child were reunited. I watched until they all piled back into the house and shut the door.

I left the shadows to head back into the city feeling a little hollow. I had only taken a few steps back down the street when I heard a voice behind me:

"Are you alright?"

I didn't have to turn around – I knew it was him. I kept walking. "I'm fine, thank you."

I could see him moving up next to me in my periphery, a single fluid motion. Instinct drew all my muscles taut.

"You handled the demon well."

I what? I…

Stay calm.

"You saw everything, then."

"I did."

Ugh… I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. What do I say to that?

"Do you always reveal your true nature to children?" His voice was haughty but just short of accusatory.

"Why yes, every chance I get." My hands balled into fists.

"Hmph." I knew he was laughing at me.

"I did the right thing."

"Are you sure?"

I glared at him. "Of course I'm sure!"

He smirked, "You misinterpret my question; what I meant was how will you know?"

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. I did my job."

"I thought you were a demon hunter."

I rolled my eyes. "I am. I killed the demon."

"And then you used your powers to entertain the child."

"What's your point?"

"It doesn't quite follow your job description, does it?"

Where was he going with this? I couldn't help myself, under my breath I said, "It could be argued that I was doing your job."

"What was that?"

Like he hadn't heard me. "Nothing. What difference does it make?"

"I'm merely trying to understand why you would make a human child privy to the secrets of your race."

"Ugh…Look, when the kid looks back on tonight he's going to remember the Greed demon or me – which would you prefer?"

The angel just smiled.

Feeling a little unnerved, "And besides, even if he does say something no one will believe him. He's six, they'll just think he has an active imagination."

"But he won't, because you're like Batman."

"I…" God, that sounded ridiculous; had I really said that? He had to listen in on everything, didn't he. "Why were you following me?"

"I saw that you were chasing a demon."

"And…"

"I thought you might need help."

I bristled, "I can take care of myself, thank you."

"Of course you can."

Patronizing bastard.

"So when the demon was gone you thought you'd stick around for the show."

He laughed, "It was very amusing."

Ass.

"Ugh…whatever, good night." I made ready to take off deeper into the city.

"Not so fast."

What now? I turned towards him, ready to vent my frustration. "What do you want?"

"Why did you take the time to disable the demon?"

"Because that's how it's done." I tried, but I don't think I will ever be able to match his condescending tone.

"You never bothered before."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Well this time I did. May I go now?"

He tilted his head, mockingly. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Maybe…"

"If you're headed into the city, we can walk."

It wasn't a suggestion. He started walking. I hung back, debating whether I should say I was headed in the other direction.

"Come along, Charlotte," he said over his shoulder.

Dammit…

He asked me more about my fighting style and my power as we walked. Too many answers led to Henry, so my replies were short and vague. I still couldn't see why he was so interested. He didn't even seem to mind that most of my answers weren't really answers at all. Honestly, I think I spent a large amount of time just staring at the sidewalk in front of me and shrugging. Yet still he persisted.

We were working our way further into the city when it dawned on me that for the last mile or two I had completely forgotten that I was talking to an angel. This, of course, only redoubled my paranoia. I'm sure I visibly stiffened.

"Well, time for me to turn in…" I made to take off down a side street.

"Charlotte, wait."

What could he possibly want now? I turned back around and he was standing there, holding a couple of bags of O negative. I stared at him, not believing what I was seeing.

"I know you're hungry."

I took a step backwards. I can't take that blood, I just can't.

"Thursday is a ways away yet." He held out the bags towards me.

Not funny, not funny at all. I shook my head, "No, thank you."

He frowned and stepped closer. "Eventually you're going to have to accept that I'm not trying to hurt you."

Not helpful. I shook my head again, "No, thank you."

He let out a short breath and held one of the bags up to my face. "Read the label, Charlotte, it's the same blood bank that you frequent."

I looked at the label. I knew he was right. I remembered the bags in the hotel room. But saying yes was such an awful idea.

He sighed and dropped his arm. "If I give you the bags and leave, will you feed?"

Was that a trick question? I didn't know what to say; I didn't know what the right answer was. I knew I looked like a fool, just standing there.

Finally he sighed again and shook his head. In a swift motion he grabbed my wrist and shoved the bags into my hand. Then he was gone.

I just stood there, bewildered.