The devil was snarling and adrenaline hit me. It felt like everything was happening with a surreal slowness. I watched as Bis turned around with terror in his eyes. The devil glanced at him and then brought his attention to me. His eyes were not the same as a demon's. These eyes were flecked with gold and slitted like a snake's. He unfurled his wings and made a horrible shrieking noise. The sound got me moving and I scrambled to me feet. This wasn't Al.

Jarzebak was muttering Latin too old and too fast for me to understand. He raised his hand and threw a nasty curse at the devil creature. The monster vanished and the curse hit a wall, covering it with green ooze that hissed and burned.

My eyes darted around the room searching for the creature. I cried out when I felt a large hot hand wrap around my throat. It was the devil. He twisted me towards him and lifted me off the floor. I wrapped my hands around his arm, trying to ease the pressure around my neck. He brought me within an inch of his face and sniffed. His eyes fastened on mine and I felt helpless. This was death, I thought. There was no escaping this.

The creature's eyes widened and it let out another shriek, hitting me in the face with its hot breath before dropping me. Jarzebak had tackled him and was on top of him. He was delivering a series of blows in quick succession. The devil took most of the abuse but was able to get a hand up and block one of the punches. Jarzebak's blocked punch hit the ground and crushed the marble.

The devil thrust his hand up and I saw claws pierce Jarzebak's stomach. He gasped in pain and blood started to trickle out of the wound. He gritted his teeth and sent another series of blows towards the devil's face. Black blood covered his fists. The creature hissed and swung an arm out, hitting Jarzebak in the chest and sent him flying across the room. Jarzebak seemed to partially right himself in mid air and landed on all fours, looking like a sprinter getting ready for a race.

The devil stood to face Jarzebak and then vanished again. In an instant, he was behind the demon and yanked Jarzebaks arm behind him. I heard a sickening pop as his shoulder became dislocated. I was behind them and had a view of the devil's back. I grabbed one of the large wooden chairs and lifted it. I brought the chair down on the black monstrosities' back and it shattered. The creature hissed and stumbled slightly but kept pulling on Jarzebak's arm. I grabbed on of the chair's legs and smacked him with it again. This time he dropped Jarzebak and turned around to face me. I crouched and held the chair leg up, threatening to hit him again.

"Rachel, put up a circle," shouted Jarzebak. "Rombus," I shouted, and my smut laced circle rose around me. The devil reached out and hissed when his hand touched my circle. "Rachel, give me a line," Jarzebak called out. And then I felt him inside me. I reached for a ley line and pulled. I took in as much of the energy as I could and pushed it back at him. His eyes widened and he threw another curse at the devil. The curse was huge and caught the monster square in the chest. The devil flew back and struck the wall. He slumped to the bottom of the floor and I waited for him to get back up. Scary monsters always got back up.

Jarzebak was next to the devil in an instant with a knife that had seemingly materialized. He took the creature by the horns and sliced its neck open from ear to ear. The creature gurgled and its eyes flew open. He hands clutched around his neck and he tried to stand up. Jarzebak brought the knife down again, this time into the creature's chest. The knife slid in to the hilt, and then he twisted it. With a final breath, the devil collapsed in a heap on the ground.

I stood panting. The adrenaline was leaving my body quickly and I could barely stand. I knelt to the floor and stared at the bloody mess.

Jarzebak was breathing hard also. His body was tense and he was looking around the room wildly. His eyes landed and Bis and he growled. "You," he said. "Who the fuck are you and what are you doing letting that piece of shit in here."

Bis's red eyes were wide and his ears were pinned against his head in fear. Jarzebak started to walk to Bis, the threat of violence in every step.

"Jarzebak, stop," I croaked out. I was having trouble finding my voice. "That's my friend."

The demon looked at Bis questioningly. "You have a gargoyle?" he asked. "Well, he's a stupid one. Just about got us killed. That baphomet followed him in on the ley lines."

"Shit," I said. "Jarzebak, are you okay?" I looked at the demon and could see that his wounds were already healed. His clothes and hands were still covered with blood though. He looked like he had stepped right out of a horror movie.

"I'm fine," he said absently. He was still eyeing Bis but it seemed like he wasn't about to run him through with the knife.

"Bis, are you okay?" I asked.

Bis hopped over to me, doing his best to keep distance between himself and Jarzebak. When he got to me he fell in my arms and I put a bubble around my thoughts. He was shaking. "I'm sorry Miss Rachel," he said in his gravelly voice. "I just wanted to come and check on you."

I stroked his back. "It's okay Bis, you didn't know."

Jarzebak was watching us. "How the hell did you get such a young gargoyle to bond to you?"

"I didn't try to get him to bond to me," I shot back. "It just happened."

Jarzabek finished looking around the room and seemed convinced that nothing else was going to be attacking us.

"What is that thing and why did it attack us?" I asked.

"It wasn't attacking us, it was attacking you," said Jarzebak. He had his back to me. "Robert," he called out. "Come help me clean up this mess."

I felt the air shift and I ducked behind a chair. Jarzebak seemed nervous also and I felt him tap a line. I relaxed when Al misted into existence. He looked pissed. His eyes went from me, to Jarzebak, and then to the baphomet. He grimaced and then looked back at Jarzebak. "That was a nasty little trick," he growled. His hands were balled in fists and I could feel him gripped the ley line.

Jarzebak gave Al an insincere smile. "What could you possibly mean? I was just looking after your student. She really is quite a handful."

He sneezed and then smiled. "Ah, I think I'll be getting another mark now." He was being summoned. Probably by Nick, just as he had predicted. "Al, we still need to discuss the matter of your debt to me. Let's chat again soon."

And then he was gone. Tension fell away from Al and he came towards me. He looked concerned. His attention flicked to Bis briefly and understanding crossed his face. Al gripped my shoulders with both hands and I felt the world shift. I looked around at my new surroundings and saw that I was in an unfamiliar room. This must have been Al's bedroom, I thought as I looked at the large bed and masculine furniture.

"Where's Bis," I asked.

"I sent him to my workroom. We don't want him letting in any other nasty things, now do we?" Al was peering at me. "What did he do to you?" he asked.

I felt tired suddenly. Al's bed looked kind of comfy. "Nothing," I mumbled.

Al snorted. "Jarzebak went through a lot of trouble for nothing," he said dryly.

I sighed. "He tried to seduce me but stopped when I tried to kill him."

Al nodded. "You pulled a ley line through him? I would have thought he would have protected himself against that. You aren't strong enough to break his protection circle."

Great, I thought. Al knew that trick already. He must have been too confident that night in the library to use it. "No, I didn't pull a ley line through him. But he stopped anyways," I said.

"He stopped?" asked Al. "Why the hell would he stop?'

"I don't know. Look, I'm tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" I walked over to the bed and pressed it, testing its firmness. The mattress was high off the ground and covered in red satin sheets. I guess it was macho in a demon sort of way.

Al shifted on his feet. I could tell that he wanted to ask more questions about Jarzebak.

"Hey, what is a baphomet?" I asked. "Jarzebak said it was after me."

Al sighed. "Another experiment with elven magic gone wrong."

I waited for him to elaborate but Al was silent on the issue. Fine, I thought. And he thinks I have a problem with communication. "So, I'm serious," I said. "I'm tired. I've been dragged in and out of reality, I've had another trial, been inappropriately hit on, and attacked by a devil. Any chance I can get some shut eye."

Al pulled back from me then nodded. "Yes, you should be safe enough here. I'd like a few moments without having to worry about you myself." He looked around the room. "But, I'd like to follow up with Tron tomorrow. He cancelled the deed to the room and won't sign it over until we provide him the memory."

My stomach sank. "Do you think it will take me as long to recover if the memory is smaller?" I asked.

"I should think not," said Al. "The memory in Dali's restaurant was unusually large. A car should be far less stressing."

"Okay," I muttered. I looked at the bed. "Thanks for letting me use your room," I said softly.

"You're welcome."

I waited. "Well, good night," I said. Al stood watching me. "Look, you aren't going to get an invitation to join me. Only one of us is sleeping in that bed tonight," I said.

Al sighed. "Very well." And then he was gone.

The room was completely dark and I couldn't even see shadows of the furniture. I was scared but felt for the bed. Still there. I hoisted myself up and slid under the covers. I hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes, much less a set of pajamas. It would be private here, right? I pulled off my jeans and top. The satin sheets felt smooth under my skin. Despite my fears, I was asleep in minutes.

Luffy fan: Wow, thanks for the reviews. I'd love to get to some Al and Rachel action soon but I want to stay in character as much as possible. I have the next couple chapters planned out so I should be able to provide quick updates assuming I have enough time to write them.