I was hesitant to project, no matter how much I wanted to. I had to be careful so that Jake didn't catch on. Tonight though, tonight I planned to visit home. When Hanna came in though to clear the dishes from diner though, all thought of going home temporarily disappeared. She had a thoughtful look on her face but she seemed hesitant; almost anxious.

"Hanna...?" I asked her as she finished, "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yes, Miss. I was just thinking about life...before."

I couldn't help but look at her in pity. I'd only been putting up with life in Hell for a few weeks, but Hanna...She had been here for decades, constantly in fear. She deserved a moment to take a breath and breath. "Do you want to talk about it? You know you can tell me anything."

"It was a little while after you left...I had just turned sixteen and my family...we needed the money. The only job I could get that required no skills was going to work at Buchenwald." I flinched at her words. The Christians were Jesus's people, but the Jews...they were Father's. I'd watched and reaped them for centuries. The holocaust was a very rough time for all of us.

"Go on." I coaxed her.

"I knew it was wrong but...I couldn't do anything...It was so hard to keep my faith, I-I felt angry with God." 'Not good.' "Then a girl I knew arrived. An old childhood friend. A Jew. Her name was Esther. Her family had always been so kind to mine. Her father even helped by brother for free once, when he was sick with the measles. She and her mother arrived there together, but Esther was sick. She was too weak to work an...I knew she wouldn't last long. That's when I met Jake. He was there as one of the officers. He was so charming and sweet to me...But then I made the mistake of trusting him...I told him about Esther and he told me he could help her if I swore my loyalty and life to him."

"I'm assuming you did."

Hanna nodded sadly, "I didn't know how he did it at the time but sure enough...She was healed. Completely healthy in every way...But that still didn't save her. A few weeks after he gave the order and she was put into the gas chambers. But he'd kept his end of the bargain and healed her so there was nothing I could do. I was assigned to duties at the hotel and I've been here ever since."

"Oh, Hanna..." I pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry. Maybe there's something I could do? I could explain the situation to the covenant or even talk to Jake if I had to."

"No...I've made my bed and I have to lay in it. There's no hope for me, but there is for you. Be very careful around him. He's had plenty of experience manipulating humans and he will use that against you."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm not human."

"But you have human friends, Miss.

"Maghen and Xavier..."

"Exactly. Neither which he's very fond of."

"Why is that anyway? They've never done a thing to him."

"Envy. When he came back that's all he could talk about. How the rules had been broken for them with no consequences and that they could be a part of your life. Being so close to angels on a personal level. That's not to be taken lightly. That and how to get you here and what to do once you were."

"Always a deadly sin with him..." I muttered. "No matter. My family will get me out of here."

"I wish I could believe that, Miss. Truly." Hanna sighed.

"If they can't then my Father can. He made this cage and He can unlock it.

After Hanna left me for the night, I tried projecting for the first time. It was an odd buzzing feeling, and made me feel slightly lightheaded. I'd closed my eyes to feign sleep and feeling the air change around me, opened them to find myself home. It was late and my family was gathered around the island in our kitchen with Maghen, Xavier, and to my surprise, Molly. Phantom was curled up against the chair Ivy sat in, snoring softly. Gabriel and Ivy had grave expressions on their faces and Molly dug through my messenger bag. I could hear the sound of crumpling paper and the shifting of the books as she moved them.

"Will you stop that?" Maghen snapped, breaking the almost-silence. "Azrael wouldn't like you going through her stuff."

"At least I'm trying here. There might be a clue. What have you done?" Molly rolled her eyes and tossed Xavier my purse. "Start looking."

"We're doing all that we can. The reapers are taking on as many of her assignments as they can, the Covenant is in constant debate about what to do." Gabriel sighed. "One of our own is missing, and that's very serious, but protecting mankind must come first."

"She couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Could she be in Heaven?" Xavier asked as he began picking through my purse carefully.

"Remind me to slap you later." I glared at him but he couldn't hear me. None of them could.

Ivy shook her head. "When the Angel of Death is in Heaven, it's very noticeable. All of the souls know her and she sticks out like a sore thumb among other angels."

"No kidding. She's got a very...'Mess with me and I'll break your spine' kind of vibe." Molly said as she unceremoniously dumped the contents of my bag onto the counter. "Nothing."

"What's this?" Xavier pulled out a scrap of crumbled paper. I moved around to look over his shoulder to see a familiar hand writing.

The Lake of Fire Awaits My Lady.

Xavier read the paper out loud and Beth took it to read it herself, but as soon as she took it, it burst into flame until there was nothing left but ash. Maghen groaned. "Now who do we know who deals with that dark poetry shit and has the power to push Azrael into a corner?"

The obvious answer hung ominously over the room.

"It's all my fault..." Beth whispered. "She rushed because she was worried for me. I...I wasn't thinking...I thought... She never would have gone of otherwise."

"It's not your fault, Bethany. Azrael can defend herself. We will get her back but we can not risk a war. We have to be smart about this." Gabriel wiped the ash off the counter. "Now here's what we're going to do..."

"Rise and shine, Angel!"

And with that I was ripped back to my body.