Another chapter done!

Judy was unimpressed as she followed the fox through the door to the diner. It was just that; a diner. Effectively a forgotten piece of the 1950's that no one cleared away when the decade ended, complete with jukebox kiosks at the tables and a laminated specials list that looked like it hadn't been updated since the 50's, either. It was the same hole-in-the-wall that she'd seen Nick enter several times. Usually for morning-after nibbles with an unsteady female companion from the night before.

Watching him as he made his way through the seating room to a table was distressing. He slipped through the relative crowd without a shred of awkwardness. Passing a waitress, a lovely white-tailed deer, he paused to ask a hushed question. Her reply was easily given and before she had made it a third of the way to the booth he had claimed in the corner, he had hung his coat and seated himself.

The lack of shirt didn't seem to faze him at all, or anyone else. If anything, the mammals present had an appreciation for the free show and, in place of any modesty, the fox basked in the attention. Judy had to admit she was impressed. And disgusted. Sort of a disgusted-impressed combo. Not for the first time, she wondered if she was doing anything even remotely sane.

As she settled herself on the opposite, uncomfortable and cracked bench seat, Judy glanced at the ancient clock hanging over the flat-top grill and noticed how late it had gotten. Between chasing him around, the fight and their walk, hours had passed. It was almost eleven o'clock by mortal reckoning.

A lot of those hours had been her trying to beat him for groping her. She suspected he had taken the extremely long way around just to irritate her. The entirety of their trip was made in basic silence, punctuated by flailing attempts by her to hit him again. It had earned her nothing but a few condescending looks. He never retaliated, for reasons Judy couldn't fathom.

Another puzzle lay in that he had bought her a soda at a vending machine, for some reason. "Caffeine", he'd supplied, but that told her little. A weak stimulant like that would hardly affect her, or so she believed, right up to when her paws started shaking. It wasn't dangerous to her like it would be to a normal rabbit, but it still felt odd. Her body was tired, but she had a massive surplus of energy. Maybe that was why they had walked so far; to burn off some of the excess, as her jitters had settled enough that she wasn't shaking by the time they arrived at the diner. She was appreciative of the lift, but she knew the drop was coming.

Strictly she didn't need sleep, but her body would benefit from the recuperative effects of the act. She could make it a while yet before she felt any real need, but she knew it was "late". A concept she found challenging. Time didn't mean much on the Fringe. However, between the hour, her activities, her injuries and the caffeine drop, she knew she'd be tired enough to sleep within a few hours' time.

She was still unhappy at walking several miles with sore ribs. It was a long way for food. When asked, "the pie" was all he'd said in response. What an unsatisfying answer. Pie was a dessert. Sugary and unimpressive every time that she'd had it. Admittedly, that hadn't been many times, but it was enough to know it bored her.

As they sat, Judy eyed the fox with undisguised consideration. Her gaze ranged over every inch of him, cataloging, assessing and analyzing. Then she'd met his eyes and he'd winked at her. She realized she'd been staring and was suitably embarrassed. Still, she had to keep an eye on him at least and glean whatever information she could from the meeting. That was when her eyes fell on the bracelet.

As he was wearing nothing else above the waist beyond his collar and a smug smile, it drew her eye like a magnet. As she watched, it shifted slightly in a disturbingly vivacious manner that had nothing to do with the fox's arm.

"You're making him uncomfortable."

Judy blinked. "I'm what?"

"You're staring, rabbit. At least introduce yourself. It's only polite."

"I'm sorry. What?"

Rolling his eyes, the demon in red fur leaned forward and held up his wrist bearing the bracelet. It took a moment, but Judy put it together. "Your armor?"

"One piece of it. When he isn't fighting with me, he likes to chill and look pretty, don't you?"

Seeing the demon that had slapped her around with ease cooing at his bracelet like it was a favored pet was possibly the oddest thing she had ever seen. She recoiled slightly as she was treated to a somewhat closer view of the armor at rest than she really wanted.

"Say hello, Lefty."

"Lefty?"

"His name!"

"He's on your right paw."

"There's no need to be pedantic. Just say hello."

Judy waved and smiled weakly as she said, "Hello?"

To her surprise, the bracelet responded. It rippled in the same disturbing way it had at the end of their fight and suddenly a little skeletal paw lifted up and waved at her.

"Huh…"

Her befuddlement only increased as the miniature appendage beckoned her closer. She glanced questioningly at the jewelry's owner and received an encouraging nod.

"He wants to tell you something. Go on."

Judy leaned in and was very glad she was slow about it. As soon as she got close, a tiny set of jaws stretched out on a proboscis and snapped just short of her whiskers. She jerked back as the fox chuckled and the tiny mouth grinned.

"Such a playful little thing, isn't he?"

Before Judy could find her voice, the waitress appeared. The sudden arrival shocked her voice back into uselessness in fear that her moment with the animate, snapping, personal adornment had been observed. Her status as a mute was enhanced as the waitress squealed like a schoolgirl and exclaimed.

"That is lovely. Can I touch it?"

"Sure!"

Before Judy could stop her, her hoof was stroking the metal band. Apparently, the object adored the feeling, as it started purring.

"Is that the bracelet or you?"

"It could be both of us. Your hoof is spending some time on my arm, too."

"Oh! Sorry! I, I'm... um..."

"No worries! I don't mind at all. Candace, was it?"

"Yes! I..." She took a deep breath and shook her head to get herself together. "I'm Candi. I'll be taking care of you this evening.

"Oooh! I can hardly wait."

The doe's blush was obvious even through her brown fur. "Can I get you anything?"

"Mint green tea with lemon for the lady and coffee for me."

"Cream or sugar?"

"Black, sweetheart. I'm sweet enough as it is."

Candi giggled. "I'll be a minute, you two. I need to put a fresh pot on."

"Take your time." Nick was dripping charm and it made Judy want to gag. He amended, "Especially with walking to the kitchen. We don't want you slipping, now." The obvious direction of his gaze and the intent of his words were missed by no one at the table.

Candi sashayed off. Nick's eyes followed her. Judy cleared her throat.

"Yes?"

"Did you want to talk like civilized mammals, or keep ogling her like a barbarian?"

"Feeling jealous already? But, Carrots, we only just met!"

"You wanted to talk. So, talk."

"Alright. A trade, then? What I know and what you know about this little situation, then we go from there?"

"First thing's first, fox."

"Sounds like a children's book."

She was already regretting talking to him. Again. "First, you're going to submit to a truth-finding spell."

"Oh, very good, rabbit. Jumping straight to a binding and interrogation? Why should I allow that?"

"You have something to hide?"

"Are you seriously asking that? Did you watch too many cop dramas for your transition quota or something? Oh, sweet misery, you did, didn't you? Carrots, I'm not agreeing to a truth anything without a proviso or five."

"Anything was better than nothing and she'd get information either way. She just had to make a deal with a demon to get it."

"I'm not giving you anything, so don't bother asking."

"Touchy touchy... I won't ask for anything in return, except a consideration and a limit."

"The consideration?"

"No questions about me, personally."

"The limit?"

"Five questions. It's that or I walk, rabbit."

"You'll gain much if you stay."

"There are limits. Don't think I'm not aware of what you're after. If you want information about me, you can get it the hard way. Any information you can offer me isn't worth the price of you learning my Name, or a few other details. You say no and I'm no worse off than I was."

"True, I suppose. I still need to know if I can trust you."

"Oh, you absolutely can't, but you knew that. I am a demon, after all. You can, however, trust me when it comes to the job."

"How can I know that?"

"You have five questions."

His offered paw hung there as she considered. A deal with a demon. One more step towards temptation. She took it.

Wasting no more time, Judy poured salt on the table from the gaudy glass shaker. With a wave of a paw, it shifted into a simple charm circle with the rune for truth in the center.

"Place your paw over the circle, Palm up. You lie, you hurt."

"I figured as much. Ask away!"

Judy placed her paw over his and began. "How did you know I can't lie?"

"The gold bangle. Only worn by angels of the third circle. Vows against falsehood are a basic part of that gig."

"How did you know about my transition checklist?"

"Oh, come on, Carrots. You think you're the first angel I've spoken to? Live long enough and you learn everything."

"Are you responsible for the lost souls?"

"Sweet misery... no! We covered that, already, Hopps. Try a real question."

"If we work together and you swear to play straight with me, will you keep your word?"

That made him pause and Judy had a moment of terror as his smirk slowly became a grin. "Clever little angel. Yes, but only because you just earned that. Your last question? Make it count." By the end of his answer, his grin was positively devilish.

"Will you swear in good faith not to tempt me?"

"No. I will, however, not use any powers of mine to help me tempt you."

That was a good thing and a bad thing. If he used his power she'd know his Sin, class and type instantly. Alternately, she'd have a much harder time resisting his attempts at temptation. If she hazarded a guess at his Sin, it'd be… a complete shot in the dark.

He was vain and enjoyed indulgence. Those would be envy or gluttony, but that was also every demon. He was obviously arrogant, but with his power and skills, he had reason for it. His proclivity for females made him a good candidate for lust and his lackadaisical attitude was sloth all over. That was five primary sins. He was too easy going to be wrath, otherwise, it'd have shown when she'd hit him. And greed was unaccounted for. Five of seven confirmed, one uncertain and one ruled out. Not a good start.

There was always a chance with a powerful demon that he could mask it. That, or possess more than one. The primary Sin was the key and Judy had no clue which one he was.

Nick lit a cigarette with his claw and Judy was again unsettled. Indigo flame. On the scale of power, indigo was very high. The higher the inherent power, the further up the spectrum the color went. An imp was red to orange, a standard demon could be anything from orange to green. Blue and Indigo was a class above; High Demons, Archdemons, and demonic Nobles. Violet was an indicator of a High Noble demon and white fringe on a violet flame was the Devil himself.

Judy found it ironic that white flame denoted the deepest corruption, but all demonflame carried a sickly hue about it, like it was festering from within even as it burned.

Lost in thought, Judy missed two things. The waitress returning and the fact that her paw was still resting on his, above the table top.

Naturally, that was when the waitress reappeared, thinking she'd interrupted a moment. Judy had never been so embarrassed. Nick's amusement was endless.

"Don't sweat it, sweetheart. I was just flirting." His wink punctuated his follow up. "I can't help it."

"So I see," Candi commented, before turning to Judy. "Is he always like this?"

"I hope not for long."

A few minutes later the appetizer order was on its way to the cook, Judy had found her voice and Nick was pulling on another cigarette.

"So, what do we know?"

"You go first."

"This is getting old, honey bunny."

"Do you ever stop with the demeaning nicknames?"

"Not until I have a reason to. I know that my people don't have a clue. The flow of souls stopped completely not long ago after a precipitous decline. They assumed it was you. As that's incorrect, they know nil."

"It's the same on my end. No surprise there, is it? We tracked the slowing in soul traffic to the last new moon. Is that right?"

"More specific than what I was told, but that sounds about right. A gradual drop to nothing. Like there's a black hole that shows up just at the witching hour when souls are divvied up. Travel ban?"

"What?"

"Is travel limited on your side?"

"Yes. I was the last transfer."

"Same here. With the mana supply stopped, I only have what I was sent with and what I can gather."

"Is your equipment in transit still?"

"You mean, is it held up awaiting my collection of enough mana to complete the transfer? No. I got mine here. I presume yours is?"

Judy nodded ruefully. "Pending authorization from my CO."

"Well, we can address that when the time comes. Right now, we need to figure out who is doing this."

"Obviously, but how? What have you been trying?"

"Divination. It can find entropy, but the window for pinpointing it is so small, the spell barely starts and it's gone. You?"

"Nothing. I'm not authorized for any of the tracking equipment until I finish my transition."

"What about scrying?"

"Possible. It's a passive skill though. Maybe random flashes."

"You don't have a relic?"

"Not on me. All my personal effects are still in transit."

"Hence the standard armor."

"Yes..."

"Alright, I assume you need a mirror or something?"

"A mirror, or a silver dish."

"We don't have either of those, sadly. Not here anyway. I guess it's up to me, then."

"What do you mean? You intend to do demonic magic in public? Are you insane?"

"Yes and no."

"Wait, to which question."

"Yes, I intend to do magic here and no I'm not insane."

"I'm not letting you-"

"Hand me the catsup."

"I-what?"

"The sugary red sauce in that bottle there. The one with the squeeze top?"

"What are you doing?"

"Divination. Like we just talked about."

"Doesn't that require bloodletting or something?"

"Oh, that'd be great. In the middle of the diner. You want me to gouge it into the table, as well? I don't want to get kicked out just yet. Hand me a plate."

"Are you serious?"

"It's a premade circle and doesn't leave a mess. Give it."

A quick, elegant circle later, Judy heard from over her shoulder a familiar voice saying, "Wow. Are you a chef?"

"Not anymore. I was a pastry chef."

The flirting was getting absurd. Judy was set to kick Nick for kissing the waitress's hoof when her world came to a screaming halt.

"Your husband is quite the charmer."

"He's not my husband!" she practically shouted.

Judy's embarrassment at shouting in the middle of the restaurant was overlaid with a layer of smooth Demonic laughter. "We aren't married. We're coworkers. Well, colleagues. We work for different firms. It's nice to get together and talk shop without the bosses breathing down our necks."

"Oh! I saw you holding paws and with the bracelets, I just assumed."

"Alas, no. We are both unattached. Our work makes long-term commitments a daunting challenge. This is just dinner between acquaintances."

Judy was impressed and horrified at the ease of his lies, spinning truth into it. The effectiveness was astonishing. As was the flirting. Somehow, he invariably turned the conversation to his advantage. The proof was evident as the waitress left with their entrée order, hips swaying, ears and cheeks red and grinning like a fool. Judy has no idea what was ordered. She'd been too busy staring in unwilling awe.

Once Candi was gone, Nick wasted no time. He put the finishing touches on his divination circle and checked the time. Eleven twenty-five. Thirty-five minutes until the Witching Hour. They had some time to kill.

He would be content to wait, under normal circumstances. These were quite abnormal, but he opted to wait, anyway. The food here was excellent and the scenery suitably engaging. Besides, a chat with an admittedly cute, and palpably naïve to the flesh, angel-bun was too good an opportunity to pass up. With that in mind, Nick took up the catsup again and set about putting the finishing touches to his spell. As he smiled at his handiwork, a grey paw clamped down on his wrist. Stern amaranthine eyes bore into his as their owner spoke.

"You can't use blood magic here."

"Is that why you were spazzing a second ago?"

"Well, yes. Doesn't this spell use blood?"

"Yes. In the smallest terms possible. Watch."

He stuck out his long, forked tongue.

His companion couldn't resist, apparently. "Very mature. You're how old?"

He waited until he daintily pricked his tongue with a claw to answer. "Old enough not to care about the answer."

Sticking it back out, Nick collected the tiny droplet that formed from the tiny wound and touched it to the sauce. A small effort of will and a Word pronounced in his mind was all it took for the circle to come to life. A nauseating yellow glow surrounded the plate for a moment and then settled into nothingness, again.

"That's it?"

"You expected a poultrygeist to appear and play twenty questions?"

"I expected a result other than a crappy light show."

"The souls are being stolen at the Witching Hour, rabbit. We can't track what's causing this until then. The divination will hold until then and we'll see what we get."

"Oh. So, what do we do until then?"

"As we are at a diner, I'd suggest we enjoy our food?"

Nick watched as the rabbit finally clued into the fact that Candi hadn't just been swinging by to shake her tail at him, though that was a part of it. Nick could smell the deer's interest and feel her desire. With every interaction, both grew stronger. However, as much as he appreciated the attention and the show, the food was the reason he was here.

He'd wasted a fair amount of time wandering around between the fight and arriving at dinner for three reasons. The first was the simplest. He had a sneaking suspicion of how the conversation would go and he knew they'd need to till some time before they could accomplish anything that night. A starlit walk was just the thing. It was a lovely soft night and a pleasant diversion.

Secondly, he wanted to annoy Hopps something awful. She was a rabbit and therefore adorable, but also an angel. There was little Nick enjoyed quite as much as irritating members of the High Hosts. It was an activity on par with irritating his superiors and underlings. As they had walked, he'd run through his magpie memory and tallied the list of tasks she would need to complete for her transition. He tried to slip as many in as he could. Buying her a soda was four all on its own. Dinner was another two. He looked forward to her reaction when she tallied up her day against the list.

The third was related to the second. He was a demon. Temptation was part and parcel to his very existence. What better way to tempt a complete neophyte to possessing flesh than to show her a few of its pleasures? While she'd been occupied with her hostile staring, he'd slipped in orders for some of the masterpieces that the chef here was capable of. The place was a dive, but the mammal at the grill had once possessed three Mewchelin Stars. He was no longer Chef de Cuisine at the La Luna Blanc, but his skill still shone and it kept the diner alive.

As if on cue, Candi arrived with their entrées as Hopps was just accepting that her tea and appetizer had arrived. Nick grinned as the play of scents washed over the little bunny. She was hungrier than she'd realized after her long walk and suddenly that came to the fore. The chef's special salad and fried tofu skewers with sauce and roasted sesame seeds that he'd ordered for her were intoxicating dishes and close to his own personal favorites. Her childlike expression of hungry delight amused him immensely. Then, she took a bite and her expression wiped all interest in food from his mind.

Nearly sinful enjoyment.

The meal before him was as exquisite as hers and he wanted to enjoy it. However, it was now one step down from sating the hunger that sustained him. Candi looked appetizing enough to warrant thirds if it came to it, but Nick also felt himself intrigued by another possibility.

He'd heard plenty of legends about bedding angels while he'd done his time in the brothels of hell. Supposedly, it was an ecstasy beyond any other, both for the act and the falling it caused as a result. A crowning achievement for any demon, particularly of the Sin of Lust, but only ever accomplished by some unnamed demon. Nick suspected it was a hoax. However, it was worth at least exploring as a possibility. Whether he could manage it or not didn't matter. It would be an entertainment to counter her stodgily suspicious attitude. As he was already baiting her, it was a natural step. He resolved himself to pursue it and tucked into his meal.

Very quickly, the food was gone and the hour almost upon them. Seeing that the rabbit was done her meal, he collected the plates and stacked them. She was visibly enjoyed every bite. It had been quite a display; not unlike dangling a catnip bag in front of a felid. Nick had done that once or twice for a laugh, but this was being on the other end of the fishing line. He was sure he liked it. Anticipation was always the best seasoning, when it came to this.

Once the dishes were out of the way, Nick moved the side plate with the divination spell on it to the center of the table. Judy's momentary confusion as she recalled the spell existed pulled a deep grin to his face.

Not wanting to be disturbed, he pulled a spark or two of power together and cast a look-not-here spell. The minor illusion would keep everyone, including a vivacious young deer, away from the table and looking elsewhere. He timed it well, as the hour struck a breath after the illusion took hold. The plate flashed and a strange looking compass made of ghostly bones rose from the disc. Several toothlike protrusions from different points on the grotesque sphere began to move.

Disappointingly, none of them moved in a way that was helpful. At least three of the nine needed to point the same direction for anything to be of note. Several came close, but either kept moving, or stalled out. The twelfth chime ended the spell and both divination and illusion vanished.

"That's it, Slick? Really?"

"That's it, sweetheart. Whatever we're looking for, I need to know more about it before we can even get close."

"How are we supposed to get more information on something we know nothing about?"

"I'm sure you have access to your mainframe. There are reports on whatever your people find, isn't there?"

"Of course, but…"

"You offered information, didn't you?"

"Yes… I'll get the files. It takes time to pull them and transfer them from the heavens. I'll have them on my tablet tomorrow."

"Good. We can try your scrying, then, too. It works better during daylight, doesn't it?"

She wasn't even surprised he knew that. "Yeah. Sounds good."

"Perfect. I'll work my end and trade info over breakfast."

Judy caught the suggestive nature of his comment, but elected to dismiss it. Even if he was serious, it was absurd. He was just playing games, trying to get a rise out of her. Typical, apparently coffee guzzling, demon.

She sipped her tea and tried to figure out what he was really after.

Some minutes later, Nick was pressing his lips to Candi's hoof in thanks for bringing them such a delicious meal and congratulating himself on a successful conquest. The little deer with the amazing hips would be his to savor. Confirmation came when she brought the check and her number was scrawled across the back of it. He snapped a picture with his phone just in case anything happened to it and slipped his bank card into the sleeve.

"You really are incredible, Wilde."

That raised an eyebrow. Obviously, an amateur attempt to start a conversation while disapproving. She was trying. And ever so adorably obvious.

"You haven't had the pleasure. I can see you itching to ask, Carrots. What is it?"

"I used my five questions."

"For the truth binding, dumb bunny. You can ask more."

"Not with a guarantee of honesty. And I am not a dumb bunny!"

"Fine. Distracted bunny. Now ask."

"My dagger. How did you handle it without being burned?"

"Simple. I kept it moving. Your dagger, if you please?"

His paw laid open in front of her, completely unprotected. Her hesitation was natural, but she yielded the blade after a moment. He couldn't hold it long enough to harm her and they were in a public place. He was arrogant to a fault, but he wasn't stupid.

No sooner had the dagger's handle touched his palm than it was in motion. The demon spun the divine weapon between his digits, across his palm. It was dancing a gyroscopic tango with his paw and nothing else. No armor. No barrier at all. Just dexterous skill at containing a razor-sharp war blade, designed to end his kind. It was exciting to her for some reason, seeing him dance to elegantly with his own vulnerability.

Judy noticed a faint smoke, barely noticeable and impossible for mortals to see, drifting up from his paw in the wake of the blade. It wasn't even enough to physically see, but the damage was real. He'd told the truth. This time with no threat of pain, or enforcement spell.

She watched as he spun the blade slower and slid it to a stop, placing it down on the table top. Seemingly to make a point, he held it there with a single digit of his paw. She heard the tell-tale hiss of demonic flesh burning and watched as he lifted the digit for her to see; proof there was no trick, she realized. Then, eyes locked on hers, he smiled as he raked his long tongue along the wound and lifted it up for her to see. It was completely healed.

He was terrifying.

Utterly terrifying.

Her heart was thundering in her chest.

Judy was stunned silent as Candi reappeared with the sleeve. Not stunned enough to miss the hoof that caressed up her dinner companions arm, or the wink sent the waitress's way, but still quite surprised. As soon as the interruption had wiggled off, the question spilled out of her mouth.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Why would I?"

"Demon."

He barked a brief laugh. "True enough, I suppose. I didn't care you because it wasn't needful."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I didn't kill you because I didn't need to."

"That makes no sense."

His sigh confused her. "Carrots, whatever you may know of demons, you're missing a few details. We aren't all the slavering, mindless hordes you're used to. The Sin-addicted junkies I'm sure you've slaughtered on the fringe of reality are not the only kinds there are."

"Evidently. I know there is a command structure, but…"

"You just thought we were all hellbent on chaos and destruction?"

She nodded vigorously.

He chuckled. "Well, you aren't exactly wrong. However, there are those among us who have ambitions outside your experiences. Some of us want other things than angelic ruin and dominion over all realms."

"What do you want?"

"A great many things, little bunny. A great many things." To her irritation that was the last she got from him. "So, what now, angelfluff? You gonna make demands? Try to bind me? Con me into helping you?"

Judy shook herself. "Nope. I intend to use sweet, simple reason. I have resources but no support. You have no resources. We've both been abandoned by our sides and no one will believe us if we report in. Mine will ignore me. Yours won't care. It makes sense for us to work together.

"So I get your information and resources. What do you get?"

"Your support."

"Well, well. Cute little bunny has a point."

"Don't call me cute."

"Fine. Hot little bunny has a point. You sure about this?"

Judy offered her paw. "Yes. Deal?"

His grin was pure smug as he took her paw and she knew she'd made a mistake. "Deal."

In the early hours of the morning, Judy sat on her bed furiously punching her pillow. She was tired. The flesh she wore was exhausted and she knew that fox was responsible for it. That was the only reason she had missed so much.

She'd made a deal with a demon. She was also in his debt twice. Twice! He'd paid for dinner and gotten her no less than eighteen marks complete on her transition checklist. Eighteen! In one day! That was more than she'd managed in her best four days to date combined. It usually took months to complete the list, but she was now over half done and only a week since her arrival.

She also realized that she was trapped.

She had pursued Wraith in the interest of gaining knowledge about a dangerous adversary. Now she had tons, but she couldn't add it to the file. Any of it. She'd have to explain how she got it and have it verified. How in heaven's grace could she manage that without being immediately branded a traitor? If she had authorization, she'd be safe. She might have gotten her superior to authorize her investigation retroactively, but Bogo had made his opinion of her clear, already. He would not help her.

She was stuck. Screwed, really. There was nothing she could do.

The only way out of the mess was straight through.