Spring had finally arrived. It had certainly taken its time this year. Kate, Evelyn and the library demons had met to play Heroes, as usual on a Sunday.

The demons had seemed a little antsy for the past hour, Kate knew why, but Evelyn didn’t bother asking. She would find out soon enough as four demons entered the restaurant. Kate recognized Azazel and War in their human forms, but not the other two.

“I have bad news.” Azazel spoke.

“We know. He’s been in the city again.”

The High Inquisitor gestured to Evelyn. “Can we talk freely with her here?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yes. Not only is she allowed to know, I believe it would best if she did. She could be another potential target.”

“Good. Then introductions are in order. I am Azazel, High Inquisitor of the Pandemonium, these are inquisitors War, Famine and Death.”

The three demons nodded politely. Each of them had done their best to be as human as possible. War was her usual sporty self, while Famine seemed to be stuck in the eighties and Death looked highly professional, somewhere between mortician and mafia boss. Together with Azazel’s very normal choice of outfit, they made for an eclectic mix.

“Evelyn, good to meet you?” The young human was unsure what to make of all this.

“I wish it was under better circumstances. To catch you up on what’s been happening, there is an angel who has been a pain in the arse. That angel, Arakiel, wants to prove himself to his superior, the archangel Raphael, by interfering with our dealings in this world. We don’t make it a secret that Kate is becoming a demon soon, and that makes her the perfect target. We are not quite sure if he intends to go after her friends as well.”

“Okay… so, you are like demon military or police or something, right?”

“The Justiciars are the closest we have to police, and their leader will join us shortly as well. We are a rather unique combination of diplomats and intelligence agency, with a hint of special operations in the military sense. Basically everything that would fall under ‘foreign affairs’. Right now, our job is to prevent Arakiel from causing harm to anyone.”

“I think I understand.”

“Good. Now for the bad news: he managed to slip away. We at least know now that he aims to kill Kate. Not instantly, that would be too easy. Instead, his plan is to capture her and demand a ransom in some form. No matter if we comply or not, he will kill her to simply spite us.”

Apollyon grimaced. “And if he can’t get her directly, he will go after everyone around her until she, like we would, offers herself to him. Kate?”

“Yes?”

“One of us will be with you at all times from now on. Promise me you will never surrender to him. We will try to protect your friends and family, but we must prioritize those closest to us. Evelyn, we will extend the highest level of protection to you as well, if that is alright with Azazel.”

Azazel nodded. “Just pick two demons to take turns sticking with you.”

“For how long? I don’t think I can just bring a demon to work.”

“A day, maybe two.”

“Okay, I have a day off tomorrow anyway, it’s fine. I got a question though.”

“Go ahead.”

“How do you know what he will do and when? Did he just tell you?”

“I am very proficient at reading minds.”

“Ah…” There was enough going on that Evelyn seemingly didn’t want to think about the implications of that.

Sariel finally teleported in, looked around the room and spoke up. “I suppose every human here is allowed to hear what we have to say?”

“Yes. Sariel, this is Evelyn, our newest friend. Evelyn, this is Grand Justiciar Sariel.” Apollyon immediately jumped to introductions.

“Hey.”

“Greetings. Now, I have little time currently, but we need to coordinate. I have sent Justiciar Yumi to assist Wrath, who is currently on her way to Adelina Constantinescu. The rest of us are standing by to be where we are needed.”

Azazel nodded and rubbed her forehead. “We need some here at the library, a few at the containment chamber and the rest spread across the city.”

“You intend to use the chamber.”

“Yes.”

Kate was unconvinced. “How do you plan to get him in there?”

“We don’t have to. Has Apollyon told you what it was built for?”

“Yea?”

“To achieve that, it is enchanted to create a toggleable field that allows teleportation into it but not out. It also had to be absolutely undetectable to anyone outside of this world. If we ‘simply’ extend the field across the city, we can trap Arakiel while allowing us to teleport to him. The only true trade-off is the fact that such a complex magic field will obscure his location. We will know when he arrives, but not where.”

“And that’s why we have demons to guard us at all times.”

“Exactly.”

Sariel nodded. “A good plan. May I suggest a small addition?”

“Of course.”

“We should keep the library outside of the field. You, Apollyon and I will remain here and intervene when necessary. Teleportation inside the field will be difficult if not impossible. This way we will have a higher chance of dealing with him permanently.”

Apollyon frowned. “I intended to be Kate’s protector myself.”

Nirrti spoke up. “I agree with Sariel. You three are our best combatants. Eisheth and I will make sure Kate is protected.”

“Then I agree to this plan.”

“Good.” Azazel seemed pleased so far. “Evelyn, you just need your protectors. Anyone who hasn’t been assigned, the choice is yours.”

The human shrugged. “I don’t know any demons besides the librarians. You can read minds though, just send someone you think I would vibe with.”

“That’s a really good idea. Permission to poke your thoughts? A little deeper than normal, I won’t tell anyone anything, promise.”

“Sure.”

“Hm… I will call Envy and Sloth here to stay with you.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I am utterly disappointed that I can’t ever tell anyone that the demons I get along with the best are supposed to be Envy and Sloth. I just want see people’s reactions to that. Sorry, not the time for this…”

“We all could use a little levity.”

Sariel nodded. “I agree. I will leave now to inform the other Justiciars of our plan. I suggest you attempt to enjoy this evening as best you can. I doubt Arakiel will act today, so our worries can be saved for tomorrow.” She teleported away before anyone could respond.

“Well, she’s right. I should inform everyone as well and set up the containment field. Would you mind if we joined you in like an hour or so?”

Kate shook her head. “I don’t mind if no one else does. I think we have enough spare cards for you to play too.”

“That would be quite the lovely distraction, thank you.”

War, Famine and Death stayed while Azazel left for an hour. The latter two demons were a little reserved about joining the Heroes matches. After a little insistence from Kate and Evelyn, both tried and enjoyed it. As Azazel returned, she too joined the games. No one could claim that it was truly fun, but it was a good distraction.