"Maybe if you close your eyes," Thelma suggested as she munched on something annoyingly crunchy.

"Thanks, I could have thought of that myself."

Azazeal had told her that if she chose to help Lucifer she needed to call Gethel and she would be able to help her find a mate for Lucifer. When Cassie suggested that he call Gethel for her, he smiled and shook his head.

"But I don't know how," she had said with a small whine in her voice.

"You'll have to figure it out then won't you," and he started to leave.

"But…"

"I guess you should have paid more attention when I tried to teach you these things," his voice trailing off as he left.

Now, she was "practicing" by trying to call every angel she knew one by one, but it just wasn't working.

"Maybe you have to…"

But Cassie turned and glared at her. That must have been the eighth "maybe" that she had suggested and some of them had been down right ridiculous.

"Sorry," and Thelma went back to her munching.

"Maybe it needs to be quiet," Cassie suggested grabbing the bag from Thelma.

"Alright! Why don't you have one of the others teach you?" Thelma said with that, "why didn't you start there?" tone.

Cassie stubbornly responded, "I want to get it myself."

"Right, because calling angels is something that people figure out for themselves everyday."

Cassie just rolled her eyes.

Then turning back to concentrating she ran through a few more names. She really didn't know what was supposed to happen but she'd been trying this long enough now that she expected that if they had heard her they would have come by now. She was just about to start try another few, when Azazeal walked in and gave her a "Yes, what do you want?" look. She looked a little confused until she realized that he had been one of the last names she had called.

"It worked!" she exclaimed and Thelma added, "Now there's a start!"

Azazeal laughed and shook his head.

"Yes, you call me all the time, but this time you ment it."

"But…you mean you ignore me? I could be in danger and you may not come."

He rolled his eyes at her.

"I'll send you Ramiel. He'll teach you."

"Ella."

"Hmm?" She responded as she sat on the floor of his room reading a textbook of some .

"Why is it that the angels don't trust you?" Malachi asked flat out.

"Of course they trust me," she responded sweetly.

"No they don't."

Then becoming more serious, "Look, Malachi, you could still bring about the End of Days anytime. Not to mention that you are working with Lucifer, who could manipulate you into anything. I can't just let you go unwatched."

"Wow, and I thought you were really starting to like me," he said smartly.

"I have a job to do."

"Of course you do," he said patronizing her, "but really Ella, I though you knew me better than that."

She shrugged.

"Lucifer's not much of a threat to me anyway now that he knows I know his real name," and his eyes twinkled wickedly.

"Are you serious?"

"I would never lie about something like that. It certainly is a good way to get his attention, but other than the threat that I could use it to banish him or work some other mischief on him, it really just a hard to pronounce word."

"You would see it like that wouldn't you. You have the power to send him away for good, why don't you use it?"

"Because he's quite a fun guy actually."

"Now pay attention," Ramiel started in his professor-like tone as he paced in front of them, "there are three main types of calls: informal, imperative, and immediate."

"Shouldn't you be writing this down?" Thelma whispered to Cassie, but received only a look from Cassie.

"Azazael says that you unconsciously call him, but it's weak because you don't know you're doing it. You need to focus more on the individual not just the name…"

And by the end of the lesson, she was apologizing to very gracious angels for calling them away from whatever they had been doing. Ramiel had worked with her on the informal himself but had insisted that she practice the imperative and immediate on those who weren't expecting it.

Apparently, informal was kind of like saying "Hey come see me when you get a chance," imperative was "I need you right away but finish what you were doing," and immediate was "AAAHHHH!" Well, at least, that's how Thelma categorized them.

"Very good, Casarmi, if that's all, I'll be going," Ramiel said and as he did Cassie felt a strong sense of obligation from him.

Her ability to understand angelic was fading daily but a few angels had called her that and she got a different meaning from them each time. Haniel, predictably, sent joy, Damiel sent a sense of peace, Lumiel sent power, and now Ramiel sent something completely different.

"Ramiel, when you call me that," she said because she could not pronounce it, "what does it mean? I hear the words 'under whom' and I feel…obligation."

He seemed reluctant to answer but said, "It is what you are called and it has many, many meanings."

"Which are?"

"You are equated with Azazael so it is a reference to his rank, but it will also have a specific meaning to each angel who calls you by that name."

"And from you?"

"I suppose 'under whom I serve' would be the best translation," and he turned to go.

"One more thing," Cassie started, and he turned, "how to I call an angel who I don't know?"

"Which angel?"

"Gethel"

At this his eyes widened a bit, "She a keeper of secrets, use that to focus your call," and he left.

Lucifer alternately grumbled and laughed to himself as he slowed climbed back up towards the edge of the abyss. He should have anticipated that that silly boy would assume that he wanted Cassie. He could have phased it better, he supposed. In the end, he was sure that Azazael finally caught his meaning that Cassie would be a perfect person to seek out a mate for him. He shook his head to himself as he thought that originally he had seen her only as a nuisance. Then she was upgraded to interesting, but had only fancied himself in love with her for a few days before he had realized that what he loved was the idea of her. Oh, well, hopefully she could find what he was looking for.

When Cassie called Gethel nothing happened, but a few days later when she was alone for the first time in a while, she turned to find a beautiful woman standing behind her, seeming to float just over the ground.

"Who are you?"

"I am Gethel who has dominion over hidden things," the being responded but the movement of her lips did not correspond to the words that Cassie heard.

"You're not…"

"No, my child, I am not fallen. What is it that you seek?"

When Cassie told her that she wanted to find a match for Lucifer, Gethel began to laugh in a way that was more human that Cassie had expected.

"Always lazy, the poor Morning Star!"

"Can you help?"

"Of course, but I am set to keep secrets rather than reveal them, so I will not name her to you. Tell Lucifer that there is a women now on this earth that would suit him and it is fitting that he must seek her in the City of Angels. She is quick to laughter and to anger, but not to love. If he wins her, she will be more than he hoped for."

"Great!" Cassie exclaimed.

Gethel smiled, "Oh, but she will refuse him for her heart hurts and is not easy. She waits for someone who can convince her that he does love, so that she can let her anger go. But Lucifer is too proud and she will see right through him. For his sake, I hope he does find the path to her heart but it will not be easy."

Cassie gave information to Malachi who passed most of it on to Lucifer when he finally popped in one evening, when Cassie and Azazeal were conveniently away.

"You do not look good, my friend." Malachi said.

"Yes, I realize that!" he snapped, "What information do you have for me?"

Malachi told him to look for her in the City of Angels and about her being quick to laughter and anger, but not to love. And he only hinted at how good of a match she would be, to which Lucifer replied, "That Gethel is always so cryptic, why can't she just speak plainly," and he left.

Cassie had begun to notice that Azazeal had begun to hover around her in a very strange way. She would think that he had left on some business or other, but then he'd be back talking to one or other of the angels, as if pretending to be occupied. She had also begun to notice that her closest angel friends had begun to drop rather frequently but with no particular explanation as to why. It was on Haniel's seventh visit in five days that Cassie finally lost it. She was just about to ask her what was going on when she noticed Azazeal was back, again, and she decided to go right to the source.

"You're back again."

"Yes, I live here."

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" He said in a way that unfortunately for him let her know that there definitely was something going.

"I don't have the patience for this, please. You don't have to keep such a close eye on me. Lucifer's gone off on his little quest and he was nothing to worry about anyway. Just…"

"I know," he said, "Sit down." She did and he sat next to her. And then he told her with delight in his eyes, but also a little worry, "You're pregnant."

"Pregnant! I'm pregnant? How am I pregnant?"

"Well, I know for a fact that you know exactly how it works."

She gave him a look but then returned to her shocked expression.

"But you said…," she started and he was looking a little guilty now, "you said that wouldn't happen."

He had told her that, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn't gotten any women that he slept with over the centuries pregnant except those he intended to, that he could actually choose when to do so.

"I know," he said now looking rather sheepish, "but when you…" and here he stopped and gave her such a loving look it she reached out to touch his face, "I could not control it."

And she knew he referred to that night not so long ago when she had heard and felt his love for her in the way only an angel could express it and she had accepted it. At the time she had felt the effect that her acceptance had had on him, but she had not imagined that it would result in this.

But she could not help but be happy and her face turned into a bright smile and she threw herself in his arms.

"It's a girl," he said.

"Really!" And the two beamed at each other with excitement.

NOTE: "Casarmi" really does, apparently mean 'under whom' in Enochian, the language of the angels as given to John Dee. I looked it up!