18

Isobel ran from the embassy. Enki said to take a day to prepare, so she was on a deadline. She had to find a way to foil an angel's scheme and also somehow make a plan B for herself to get home. She had no time to spare.

She ran past the hotel and down the side streets only stopping when she got to the library. Throwing herself through the doors, she went straight to the reference section. There she ran her finger over the bindings, glancing at each title. There was a specific book she was looking for, but had only seen it once.

"Come on, come on," she murmured to herself. Finally her finger stopped on a big, red leather bound book. She pulled it from the shelf and read the title.

The Classification and Catalog of Sins, Their Significance, Influence, and Divine Punishments by Aloysuis of the Family Goetia. She flipped it open toward the back looking for the index.

"Yes, my man, Aloysuis, is there anything you don't know?" She tucked the book under her arm and left. Aloysuis of the Family Goetia had proven to be extremely helpful throughout her time in Hell, and Isobel made a mental note to thank him profusely if they ever met.

A few minutes later she was barreling through the hotel doors and straight to the bar. Husker and Angel were there in the usual spots having their usual, lightly veiled conversation.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in," Husker said. Isobel wasn't sure if he meant the pun or not.

"Yeah," Angel chimed in. "What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving."

"The meeting didn't go as planned."

Angel snorted and sipped from his cup. "Meetings with Heaven never do."

"Can I get a drink? Something with a lot of vodka?"

"Um," Husk eyed her wearily. "You do know it's still the morning?"

"I do," Isobel confirmed. "And I need vodka." Up until now she had been very careful about consuming alcohol in fear of losing her wits, but today she didn't care. She needed something to dull the rage in her chest.

Husker shrugged and mixed some liquids together in a glass then slid it down the bar to her. She took a big swig. It tasted terrible, but it would do. She finished the drink in three swallows and slammed the glass back down.

Husker and Angel looked on, giving each other side eye wondering who would be the first to ask what was wrong. Husker put his finger to his nose, not it.

"So, uh," Angel tried to approach delicately. "You doing ok, honey?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. We'll see," Isobel said with perhaps a little too much vigor. "Have you seen my demonology book?" Angel shrugged.

"Yeah," Husker offered. "I think Nifty put that under the coffee table to level it."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Isobel said as she grabbed her new acquisition from the library and hustled off to get the other book.

Angel and Husker watched as she, mumbling to herself, climbed under the coffee table, banged her head, swore loudly, and then retreated up the stairs toward her room.

"What do you think that was about?" Angel asked Husk. He just shrugged.

"Everyone's got problems."

Back in her room, Isobel poured over the two books. She needed to find loopholes. She had to find something that would anchor her in place. Something strong enough that Enki could not justify snatching her from Hell. She had described Isobel's soul as unmarked, so maybe there was a sin that could mark her in some way. Something just bad enough to damn her soul just a little bit until she got back to Earth. Then maybe she could go to confession and say some Hail Marys or something. That's how it worked right?

She also needed to figure out what Enki meant when she mentioned magic and jewels being used to open portals. She thought she had read something that had sounded somewhat familiar in the demonology book, but couldn't recall.

She went back and forth between the two books all afternoon and into the evening without break. Charlie eventually brought her some food, and spent some time trying to help to no avail. It was late evening when Isobel finally found passages she was looking for. She read and reread them trying to formulate some kind of plan. It would be tricky, dangerous, probably won't work, but it was the best and only option.

As the black of night pushed away the purples and blues of evening, Alastor finally arrived back at the hotel. No one had seen him all day as he had spent it in Cannibal Town with Rosie doing all kinds of unspeakable things. Angel was leaving for work as Alastor walked in.

"Oh, there you are," Angel said. "We were all wondering what happened to you."

"Business, deer chap," Alastor answered blithely. "There is always business to be done."

"Yeah, whatever." Angel and Alastor's definition of business differed dramatically. "Well, I'm sure Isobel will be happy to see you anyway."

Alastor practically skidded to a stop. "What was that?"

"I said Isobel will probably be glad to see you, you know, because you guys are like chums or something."

"I was under the impression that she had departed this morning." He thought that maybe Angel was pulling his leg in a strange attempt to be humorous.

"Nope," Angel leaned on the door frame. "Her meeting with Heaven did not go well, surprise, surprise." He rolled his eight eyes. "She seemed really pissed about it, too. Angry reading, you know. Up in her room, all day, alone." Angel gave Alastor a knowing grin, which Alastor did not appreciate at all, then blew him a kiss before leaving.

Alastor glared at the stairs. It would appear that his distraction was not as resolved as he had thought.

As he opened the door to her room, he found Isobel just as she was that morning, staring out the large window. She looked a bit disheveled, however. Her jacket lay in a puddle at the foot of the bed, boots in the middle of the floor. Alastor did not approve of her untidiness. She had also taken her hair out of its usual braid, her raven tendrils hanging messy and wild cascading down her shoulders

Though he knew she was aware of his presence, she did not turn to him, so lost in thought as she was.

"Good evening, Isobel," he said.

"And to you, Alastor." Her voice was quiet, distracted.

"I am told that your meeting did not go as you had hoped." He felt like gloating just a little bit. "You know what they say, never trust an angel. They are, after all, quite flighty." It was a bad joke, but it still amused him.

"They offered to take me out of here." Her voice was still quiet and very serious.

"Well," he didn't quite know what to say. "Bully for you then. When do you leave?"

"I turned them down," she slowly spun around to face him and he recognized the fury behind her eyes.

"That is very surprising. You've gone to great lengths to be sent back, and yet, you stay?"

"They want to lock me away. A punishment for a crime I didn't commit. Hide me, and then forget me, I think. They said they were going to come for me whether I wanted them to or not. Take me kicking and screaming." Isobel's voice wavered and he could not tell if she was about to cry or scream. She took a sharp breath and went on.

"I've spent all day trying to figure out a way to stop them." Isobel gestured to the books sprawled out on the bed. Alastor walked over to them, putting his fingers on the pages and skimming the words.

"I was hoping to find a loophole. Like eating shellfish as an abomination or something. But actually finding a sin serious enough to keep me here, but not so serious that it damns me forever, is tricky."

"I suppose it will have to be murder then," Alastor suggested with a gleam in his eye and sardonic smile across his face.

"No," Isobel groaned. "Alastor, I don't want to hurt anyone. So murder, torture, all that is out. It doesn't leave much that an angel can't just wipe away like it never happened. There was only one sin I could find that seemed like it wouldn't cause any harm, but will irrevocably tie me to Hell." She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. She forced herself to look him directly in the eye. "If I were to give myself… physically, to a demon, it seems like it would do the trick."

The intensity in her eyes seemed somewhat unsettling, almost sinister, and he suddenly became extremely aware of how close they were standing to each other.

"I figured if I gave myself to an overlord, that would work even better." She took another step and now her body was almost touching his. "There's a catch, though. You see, I can offer my body all I want, you would have to actually claim it."

She waited for a reaction. She waited for him to recoil, or say something, or punch her in the throat, something. But he just stood there, staring down at her. Maybe his brain was just taking time to compute what she was actually suggesting. Maybe he was thinking of the best, most efficient way to kill her. Maybe he was just calling her bluff. If that was the case, she had to up the ante.

Isobel pushed up on her toes, wrapped her fingers tight around his lapels, and kissed Alastor.

This was different from the night at the club, or the innocent kiss on the forehead from that morning. This kiss had an urgency to it, a yearning that went beyond mutual gain. Isobel pressed her body against him and was surprised to feel goosebumps travel down her spine.

This was to be a calculated risk, perhaps even a long shot. She fully expected him to shove her away at any moment, but now that she was there with her mouth on his, touching him in ways she would not have dared just a day before, she at last admitted to the thought she had been pushing away for days, weeks.

She wanted him.

She wanted his power and influence. And now she understood, she wanted his body.

He wanted her too, she knew that. Though what he wanted from her was very different. He wanted to control and possess her. Isobel was not going to sell her soul. If what Enki had said was correct, a living soul in the hands of a demon, especially one as ambitious as Alastor, would cause unbridled havoc. But she was prepared to hand over to him what she could, at least for a while. However, would it be enough to satisfy?

Isobel pulled away, releasing his coat from her grasp and lowering her heels slowly to the ground. He hadn't reacted to any of her advances. He hadn't put his arms around her, but also hadn't rejected her either. He stood stoic, his gaze locked into her green, penetrating eyes.

Suddenly he grabbed her hard around each arm and lifted her off feet until she was face to face with him. He growled at her.

"Finally."