"Good. Illegal is always faster."

Eoin Colfer

Chase

Nightfall: check.

Good disguise: check.

Imp sidekick: check.

Cue the Mission: Impossible theme music!

I hummed the song to myself, watching Lovett's house from my perch in a neighbor's tree. My side was itching fiercely, but I ignored it for now. Changing my form around now might draw attention, especially from this Jasper guy. No, I was stuck as a raven for the moment. The dark feathers hid me well, anyway, so I could live with it.

Beside me, Oly flicked her tail feathers. She had settled on a sparrow for herself, the feathers barely hiding her scratches and burns. I doubted I looked any better, between the throbbing gouges in my chest and the other shallow scratches she left me with. My currently not-ear burned where she'd bitten the tip off, but we didn't hurt each other too much. A few scars to add to the collection, I supposed. What mattered about that fight was that I won.

Unless you asked Oly, of course. Her opinion didn't matter, though. She had been the one pinned on the kitchen floor, asking for mercy.

You should have done more damage, at least. Preferably eat her next time.

The good thing about that fight was that we seemed to be getting along now. Her attitude had improved, and I'd take that. Who knew that all it took for us to get along was throwing hands?

Oly spread her wings. "I don't see anybody. I'm moving closer." With that, she hopped off the branch and flew for a tree in Lovett's front yard.

I narrowed my eyes, taking off after her. I made sure to do a loop around Lovett's house, doing a thermal scan as I went. It was complicated to pull that off when I had to touch my forehead to activate the scanner, but I managed it. Swinging back around, I flew at the tree Oly had disappeared into. Landing on a branch below her, I tucked my wings into my side. "Nobody's home."

Oly snorted, shaking her head. "The only thing he left to guard the place was a trap? Not even an imp? He's as bad as Master."

I let the slight go. Douglas didn't need a security system with me spending most of my time in the house. I could handle your basic burglars, and Douglas wasn't useless. I'd seen him hold his own against Mr. Davenport and Krane, and that turned out just fine. "What trap?'

Oly pointed at the door with her beak. "See that carving on the door frame?"

I squinted at the door, glad that Lovett left his porch light on when he left. The light let me see a star carved into the frame above the door, a cross in the center of the shape. I'd never seen a symbol like that before.

The symbols are arbitrary. It's about the energy inside.

I blinked, looking at Oly again. "What about it?"

"It's going to light us up like a candle if we set it off," Oly explained. She fluffed her feathers up, flicking her tail feathers before she hopped down onto my branch.

"You're a terrible candle," I said, shifting over to make room for her as I glanced at her tail. "The flame doesn't take."

Oly batted me with a wing. It wasn't hard enough to hurt if I didn't count the scratches she hit. "Look, we have to find a different way in or go home."

I flicked my tail feathers, examining the door. "We can't get past it?"

"Not without Master or a shield."

That made sense, I guessed. I wasn't about to dabble in magic yet, but Yahn explained the mechanics. All the flashy spells that Summoners did – traps, magic shields, creating amulets and talismans, so on – was all us. Summoners could do almost anything with a few well-placed words, assuming a demon was throwing their energy behind it. Whether the demon was trapped inside the object as a constant power source or the Summoner acted as the conduit directing the energy, most magic didn't happen without a Summoner controlling the power. We could do things with elements and illusions, but it was pretty limited.

For the record, if a Summoner claimed to be a powerful magician, they're a liar. We're the electricity behind the flashing lights.

I digress. Oly's point was that the trap needed Douglas or someone to undo the spell. Fortunately for her, I had a solution for this. I puffed out my chest. "I have a shield."

Oly cocked her head, leaning forward. "Where is it?"

I spread my wings out, activating my forcefield so that it surrounded both of us. Oly looked around at it, her eyes widening. When I let it go, she threw up her wings. "All you newborns are using new magic, and we're just expected to keep up with it."

I rolled my eyes, tucking my wings into my sides again. I didn't have time to explain bionics to her. "Look, do you want to get in there or not?"

Oly sighed. "Fine. Can you cover the trap with that thing?"

I shifted my weight, nodding. "Easy."

"Good. Let's go, then." Oly took off, flying to the front door. I followed behind her, watching the trap as she landed near the porch. I landed on the concrete near her, hopping a few steps forward as she pointed at the door with a wing. "You know how to turn into smoke, right?"

I blinked. Smoke? I'd never turned into smoke in my life, and I doubted it would be useful here. What did she expect us to do, float away on the wind?

Oly pecked my wing. "Damn it. Have you done snakes, at least?"

I pecked the top of her head, watching her hop back a few steps with satisfaction. "Once."

"That's better than nothing," Oly muttered. "You move through the air similar to a snake. Figure it out fast, though, because that thing is going to reset." She looked up at the trap to point with her beak.

"Right." I spread my wings again, letting the forcefield shimmer back into existence. A quick flick of feathers directed it up to cover the trap in a small, blue dome.

"Great. See you inside." Oly's bird shifted away, replaced by a wisp of smoke that floated towards the door. A yellow dot of light flared up at the base of the cross the started zipping around the star design. Wincing, I softened my essence and reconvened into smoke as best I could. At least I didn't have to worry about symmetry with this form. Oly wasn't wrong when she compared the movement to a snake. I had to wiggle around through air currents that wanted to toss me around. Oly drifted under the door, not waiting for me to figure it out.

When I reached the door, the spark traveling around the star reached the bottom of the cross again. A light flare shot from the symbol, hitting my forcefield like a train. The barrier dropped away, but it absorbed most of the blast. A few sparks drifted down from the door frame as I worked my way into the house, one drifting through my smoke stream.

Smoke couldn't gasp in pain, but it could sure feel it.

I wiggled under the door faster to avoid the rest of the sparks raining down. I didn't want another burn from that thing.

In the house, Oly was already in midair. She had settled on a gnat to search the place, her wings beating while she waited on me. I shifted forms myself, glad that I wouldn't embarrass myself when I turned into a gnat like her. Yahn had trained me well on that form. Oly darted towards me, buzzing as she looked me over. "You got hit?"

"I'll live." We were in enemy territory now. I would have to deal with it until we got out of there. "Let's just do this."

"Don't look at it," Oly advised. She turned around, flying into the living room. I checked the planes – all quiet – and flew upstairs myself.

For the record, the perspective when you're a gnat is impressive. You know those videos with drones flying over something at top speed? It's similar to that. Sure, I watched the carpet and walls the whole time, but those still looked cool as I flitted in and out of rooms. When nothing obvious arose from that search, though, I had to change forms.

It was so relieving to be myself again. The persistent pinching in my side eased up as I started looking through any drawers I could find. I was careful not to mess with the contents much – you know, discreet – but it didn't matter, anyways. I found clothing, random items, junk, and papers (Lovett needed a filing cabinet), but nothing incriminating. He didn't even have a computer. What kind of ass-backwards villain didn't have a computer?

A smart one. Lovett doesn't want you or anybody else to know what he's really up to. He doesn't have guards because he cleaned his house well.

I pinned my ears, slamming a drawer in his desk shut as Oly trotted into the room. She was her usual gargoyle self again, all big ears and long tail as she climbed onto the desk. She sat down, curling her tail around herself as she cocked her head. "Find anything, Half-Breed?"

I plopped down in Lovett's desk chair with a wince. That spark burn was getting on my nerves now. "No." My tail tapped on the carpet as I blew out a breath. "This was a waste of time."

You might as well burn the place down.

Oly snapped her beak loudly, throwing her hands up. "Great." She stood up, pacing across the desk. "We have nothing to work with, and now we have to go back and explain why there's blood in Master's kitchen."

"He'd probably understand about us not finding anything," I muttered. Honestly, the only good part about this was that we hadn't run into Jasper. I crossed my arms on the desk and rested my chin on them, watching Oly. "As for the blood, I'm sure he won't kill me over it."

Fairly sure, anyways.

Oly turned back to me, her tail whipping around to hit a desk lamp as she pointed at me. "I'll make sure he knows you started that."

I sucked in a breath and sat up straight, expecting the lamp to crash to the floor. It didn't move, though.

"I'll be damned if I'm the only one going down for this." Oly poked her palm as her rant continued. "Master's 'perfect little Half-Breed' picked that fight, and I'm not- are you even listening?"

Honestly, I wasn't. Sure, I had an ear aimed at her, but that only went so far. I stood up, skirting around the desk to inspect the lamp. I pushed at the wooden base with a frown as Oly turned towards me. It didn't move. Like, this thing was glued onto the desk or something. Oly rolled her eyes, stepping forward and shoving the lamp. "Pay attention to me, Half-Breed!"

I pinned my ears – Oly got us caught if that thing broke – but it barely moved. In fact, it moved just enough for me to see a crack in the desk along the lamp base. Carefully, I picked the lamp straight up. A thin panel of wood followed the bottom of the lamp, revealing a tiny compartment carved into the desk. Inside was nothing but a keyhole, but that was more than I thought I'd find. Perking my ears, I grinned and set the lamp aside. "Oly, you genius."

Despite not actually doing anything, Oly forgot her irritation almost immediately. A well-placed compliment worked well with her, it seemed. That was good to know. She smiled, raising her head. "Why, thank you." She leaned over the lock, cocking her head. "Did you find a key?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. I didn't need a key to get through a pin-and-tumbler lock. I knew how they worked, and that was all I needed to know. Using my molecularkenesis, I held a hand over the lock and raised the pins, twisting my hand so the tumbler turned. Across the room, a bookshelf clicked. It caught our attention, my ears perking up. Oly hopped off the desk, trotting across the room to the bookshelf. Sniffing it, she worked her claws behind it and pulled on the shelf. It groaned and swung open to reveal a hidden room a second later. Not only a secret room but one that radiated energy.

Just a quick aside here, demons felt magical energy. If I had gotten right up on the trap over Lovett's front door, I could've felt the magic it contained. Most things were like that. However, whatever was going on in this secret room was a lot more powerful. I could feel it coming out of there in waves.

Oly trotted inside, her large ears flapping as she did. "What loser has a secret room?"

I laid my ears back, following her with more caution. I didn't want to walk up on whatever was shooting off that kind of power. "Better not be bionic teenagers in there."

Oly didn't respond. She was busy inspecting a pedestal in the center of the small room. I frowned, hovering in the doorway as Oly jumped off the floor with a few wing beats. The room didn't have much else in it. Just a stupid little pedestal with what looked like a necklace on it. The pendant was golden and covered in runes with a ruby sunk into the center. Surrounding the thing from plane two onwards was a yellow dome, glowing with the magic it took to create it. See, that was what I expected to be guarding the house, not some stupid little trap.

Oly flew a tight circle around the shield, then stopped and blew a thin tendril of smoke straight into the dome. I frowned, my tail twitching as I shuffled closer to Oly. She had found a minuscule hole in the shield – those things weren't perfect – and slowly expanded the smoke to widen the gap. "Oly, we shouldn't mess with this thing. Lovett's going to know someone was here if we take it."

Oly snorted, curling her talons like she was pulling something. "Look, Half-Breed, this thing isn't some trinket. It's Azazel's Bane."

I couldn't stop a shudder. Azazel's name was enough to set my teeth on edge. "So?"

"So whatever Lovett is planning is going to be huge," Oly snapped, glaring at me for a second before she turned back to her smoke ring. "This thing absorbs any magical attack thrown its way. It's what they used to kill Azazel."

Now that was a protection spell! I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. "Why would Lovett need that?"

Oly shrugged, reaching through her smoke ring at last and scooping up the amulet. "He doesn't. Master needs it."

Take it from her. You need it.

I raised a finger. This was the opposite of staying off the radar. "Oly – "

"I'm taking it with or without you." Oly looped the chain around her neck.

Damn it. I pinned my ears. "Fine, but I'm not saving you from Douglas."

Oly waved the threat away, landing on the floor. "He'll be too excited to have this thing to even care." She started out of the room on all fours, her tail waving behind her. "Besides, I'm telling him it was your idea."

I spun around – ouch, that was a mistake – and followed her out of the room. She was climbing the desk to put the lamp back into the slot. Sighing, I shoved the bookshelf until it clicked back in place against the wall, lowering my ears. "You are the worst spy, Oly."

Oly shot me a grin, hopping off the desk and trotting out of the room. "Whatever. Just help me find a way out of here. We're not making it out of the door with this thing."

I rolled my eyes and followed her out of the room. Lovett would know someone was here when he found Azazel's Bane missing, anyway. The only benefit to this was that nobody was home to catch us. "I guess it wouldn't matter if we opened a window and flew out now, would it?"

Oly stopped, then turned and went into a bedroom. "No, it wouldn't."