Chapter 10: Can I really?

They were in the apartment, and Tagas went to Harry's door, and knocked on it. The demon opened the door, looking sleepy.

"I need to talk to you, may I come in?" Tagas asked, and Harry stepped to the side to let him through. For the first time, the angel was in the demon's room.

He looked around. Where there was a soft silk blue blanket on Tagas's bed, there was a crumpled red one on Harry's. Even the demon's pillows were a deep crimson.

He went and sat on the chair by the desk, and Harry sat on the bed. There was a pause, during which Tagas collected his thoughts. Then, he began to speak.

"I have been thinking about what Beth wanted of me," Tagas said, and Harry nodded. "About saving children."

"Noble calling," Harry mused out loud. "And a risky one."

"There are many good people out there, in this country alone, who need my help," Tagas countered. He knew that people would want to experiment on him, if they got their hands on him. He also knew that the joy that both Arthur and Audrey felt had been blinding, and he wanted more people to feel it.

"Look, I'll protect you. Magic you out of messes. But it takes only one misstep for you to end up in a bad place," Harry told him, and then the demon sighed. "I am sent here to keep you safe. Not to question you."

"You are my friend, Harry. Question me all you want," Tagas told him with a grin.

"We are friends?" Harry blinked at that. "I have an angel friend!"

Tagas let out a chuckle, and Harry soon joined him.

"You need a plan, Tagas," Harry told him after they were done laughing.

"I figured I can retrieve the children and just leave them on the doorsteps?" Audrey had recognized her son quickly enough. Surely, the other parents would recognize their children as well?

"You still need to touch the mothers. What of those children who don't have mothers? Many women die in childbirth, even with the modern advancements in medicine," Harry didn't want to rain on Tagas's parade, but he had to show him it was not going to be easy in the slightest.

"I just need a female relative," Tagas murmured. "Surely, there would be at least one, for each case?"

"What if there is none?" Harry countered. Tagas bowed his head.

"Then, I will try to search through a male relative. If there is none, I will ask my brothers for help," up above, they had more resources than he did down here.

"And when big scary Michael finds out, what then?" Harry asked. Surely Tagas knew that his older brother would spit fire, if Tagas contacted anyone in heaven, before his banishment was over?

"Then I will face the music. I found a couple of missing children's cases in this town, on the internet," Tagas said, and he pulled out his tablet. Moving towards Harry, he showed him the first case. "A fresh one. From a month ago."

"Sounds doable," Harry said, and he read the details. The mother had fallen asleep on the playground. When she woke, the child was gone. A toddler at four years of age.

"We can go to her tomorrow. I will just call Arthur to tell him what I will be doing, instead of coming to the farm," Tagas said, and Harry nodded.

"At some better hour, maybe? It is two in the morning, Tagas," Harry pointed at the clock, and the angel got an idea.

"We can leave for the mother's house now, and then spend some time helping Arthur on the farm," Tagas looked enthusiastic at the prospect.

"You will have to disguise yourself," Harry told him, and Tagas snapped his fingers. He was in his Greek armor, cape and all, and his wings were on full display.

Harry had seen him like this in heaven, but now, in the dimly lit room, Tagas looked ethereal. Harry just stared at him for a while, gaping.

"Arthur is one lucky man," Harry managed to get out, when he got back to his senses. Tagas blushed at that, and looked at his hands.

"He is my soulmate," Tagas told the demon, trying to convey with these simple words that it simply wouldn't work out between them. No matter the fact that Harry was a good sort, despite being a demon.

"As I said, lucky. Lucky and blessed," Tagas looked at Harry's eyes, and saw how soft they were.

"Should we go?" Tagas asked, and Harry nodded. He snapped his own fingers, and ended up in a suit with a fedora. Tagas chuckled at that.

"What? You suit up, so do I," Harry told him, his nose scrunched up.

"It suits you. You look like how mortals imagine big brother Lucifer as," Tagas spoke, and then touched Harry's arm. "Get us to the house."

Harry did so. That night, as Bethany woke, she saw an angel sitting next to her bed.

"What? Am I...dead?" The mother asked, and Tagas was quick to smile and shake his head.

"Your prayers have been answered. I am here to get little Robert back to you," Tagas told her, and then placed his hand over his. "Just don't tell anyone that I have come. Least a demon hears."

Bethany nodded, and she didn't notice Tagas's grace race through her system. When she blinked, there was a single blue feather on her lap, and she teared up.

Tagas knew where to search now. Yet, he was worried. The child was close, still the boy was in the forest. He just hoped that they got in there in time.

Harry teleported them to the place that Tagas showed him in his mind, and they were before a hunting lodge out in the forest. Immediately, Tagas could smell the stink of a witch from inside.

Frowning, he moved to the door and opened it. With Harry behind him, activating the alarm of the house without noticing, for the witch had warded her house against demons.