A year ago, Auden had called him perhaps an average of three to four times a day. She had been constantly worried—about where he was, what was for dinner, if the gallery was open or not, when he expected her and Grelle home from collection—and Sebastian had indulged her, always picking up, always answering her questions with patience, talking about nothing when she just wanted to talk. Eventually, she'd decreased the number of calls to two, then one, then ceased needing to speak with him over the phone altogether and settled for sending him the occasional miscellaneous text message. So when her name was the one on the screen when his phone began to vibrate, he knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Auden? What is it?" he said instead of hello.

She drew in a sharp breath and let it out just as sharply. "You—you need to come down here. To Dispatch. Right away. By five thirty, I mean. You—you should leave now…"

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"No, I-I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything, just please come down here right away."

She did not sound fine. She sounded rattled, like something had shaken her up. If even the slightest hair on her head had been moved out of place…

It took some effort to sound calm when he said, "Auden. Tell me what's going on."

"The board wants to meet with us," she replied. "It's about Grelle."

Sebastian was out the door the same instant.

"Asgaheth is no longer in the soul's radius."

Auden waited for Sebastian outside of Dispatch, nervously pacing back and forth for the minimal five minutes it took him to arrive. He was not there, and then suddenly there, right in front of her, his eyes and face and his entire posture very, very serious. Auden nearly walked into him. He didn't say anything and neither did she, at least not for a moment as she moved swiftly inside and down the stairs and he followed. It wasn't until they reached the long hallway with the door at the other end that he spoke.

"You've met with them before."

It wasn't an accusation. It didn't sound angry, nor was it a question. Auden paused at the door and looked back at Sebastian and he regarded her with frankness as though he'd merely made an observation.

She didn't know if it was safe to respond.

Her watch said five thirty, so she turned the knob on the door and pushed it open. Inside, the room was just as dark as before. The same judge's bench still lined the far wall, towering up into the shadows. This time, however, there was no table, no chair, but just dark empty space between it and the door. She stepped forward. Sebastian's eyes flashed purple in the gloom.

"Shut the door," the voice said.

Auden glanced back, but Sebastian was already taking care of it.

"Auden Lord and the demon Sebastian Michaelis."

"Yes," Auden replied.

There was a space of silence.

"The two of you share a residence with the reaper Grelle Sutcliff."

"Yes," Auden said again.

Her heart beat hard in her chest and she wished they'd get on with it already. Was Grelle going to be alive or wasn't she? Surprisingly, no one on the board said anything after that. Pens scratched on papers not visible in the darkness. A few sheets of that same paper were shuffled. Auden mustered up a little sliver of courage.

"H-have any decisions been made?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why have you called us here?" Sebastian growled.

"Careful, demon."

"Answer me."

"You have been called here to answer our questions. Auden Lord accompanies as insurance that you will not do anything rash."

Sebastian scoffed. "This is not a game to me."

"We required certainty all the same."

He looked down, angry but subdued. "What are your questions?"

"Grelle Sutcliff's Cinematic Record from her human life has been reviewed, as has her Record as a reaper. We have been requested by On High to conduct interviews with all those who associate with her on a regular basis. From there we will move on to less-regular acquaintances."

"That could take weeks."

"Yes, or years perhaps."

The coolness of the response grated on Auden. Weeks? Years? Could Grelle last that long? Would her body start to deteriorate? Would her soul frighten itself into madness? What if even after all that time, the two pieces still wouldn't fit together? No, they couldn't wait that long. On High needed to make a decision now.

"May I request that the process be expedited?" Sebastian asked. His hands curled into fists at his sides. He was restraining himself.

"We are not in the habit of fulfilling the requests of demons."

Sebastian's eyes flashed up, glowing, and he bared his fangs, so Auden reached out and grabbed hold of his hand to keep him from taking more than a step forward.

"Then do it for me," she said, interrupting the snarl that had started to rumble from his throat. She turned her face up at the darkness above the bench. "Please. Grelle…Grelle is like…she's my mother. I need her. Please."

Silence was the only response.

It was easy enough to slip undetected through the streets this time of evening. London's humans were all headed home to their meaningless dinners in their trite houses with their quaint families or silly flatmates. They wouldn't notice a group of demons strolling swiftly through Mayfair. Particularly when those demons looked so remarkably human, like they were headed home for dinner themselves.

Which, as a matter of fact, they were.

There were three of them, and they'd agreed to share the meal if they could get their hands on it. The rumors had been flying around for days, and they knew for a fact they weren't the only ones who had been keeping an eye on the demon called Asgaheth, and that they were not the only ones who would take advantage of this opportunity. Plenty of others wanted revenge on the red reaper, or Asgaheth, or both.

The soul was difficult to sense, but it was there, on the second floor of the red brick house with a golden number nine next to its door. The building appeared ordinary enough. Several other demons were sensible on the street, having staked out places to wait and watch. The three came to a stop and ducked into an alley between houses.

"Well?"

"Give me a minute…"

They were quiet, bated, wary.

"We'll have to wait and see who makes the first move."

They only had four seconds left to wait.

Auden stared pleading up at the darkness over the bench, praying, running that same word through her head over and over and over again: please, please, please, please. They had to see reason, they had to. The least they could do was agree to be quick. It was such a small request.

Suddenly, Sebastian tensed. Auden looked at him and his glowing gaze seemed directed off somewhere far distant. His fangs were fully visible now.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Grelle."

He disappeared the very same instant in a trail of smoking shadow.