The evening wasn’t quite as cold as the last one had been, but this time Charmian was properly dressed for it. She was curled up on the porch swing under a blanket, just one leg poking out so that she could rock herself when she wanted to. Justin had loaned her a hoodie and she was snuggled up toasty warm in her many layers. It was a novel experience for her, to be simply hanging out in that manner. An avenger’s work was never done and it wasn’t often that she got to let off steam or relax with her friends. Usually they took whatever fun they could get while on the job. Even if they weren’t seeing much action they were effectively always on patrol. This made a nice change. It was like a mental recharge and she wished she’d known the effects sooner. She would have scheduled it into their training.

“Sittin’ here resting my bones, and this loneliness won’t leave me alone…”

She smiled softly, watching him as he strummed out the tune on his guitar.

“Two thousand miles I roamed just to make this dock my home… hey, did you ever meet Otis Redding?”

Well, he’d got nearly through the whole song before being distracted by her past again.  This was probably the longest he’d gone all day – Justin couldn’t seem to finish a task or conversation without asking her whether she’d met somebody or other. It seemed he thought that living so long meant she must have met every famous person who ever lived. There were a lot of historical events he seemed to think she must have been at too.

“No. I think Lucas might have cleansed Marvin Gaye one time though.” 

“Cool.” He played another couple of chords but then stopped again. She sighed slightly, wishing he would have finished the song. She’d always liked it and he sang it nicely. “Wait, is that why Marvin Gaye died? Lucas did the whammy on him ‘cause he was bad?”

“No, I think it was a pretty minor one.” She tried to remember. “He probably lost a bit of money or something, nothing serious.”

“Good.” Justin stopped frowning. He didn’t like to think that any of his heroes might have done something worth a more serious dose of avenging. “Do you remember everyone you fixed like that?”

“Way too many for that. I just remember the biggies. Or the people who did something so shitty it really stuck.”

That was as much as they had talked about the avenging side of her job all day. Justin had decided that since she was having so much trouble with being human again, the best way to help out was to make her concentrate on human things. That meant not talking about demons and death (especially not his death) and instead talking about people, about things in her life which were a little closer to earth than heaven. The topic of immortality couldn’t be avoided entirely since most of her life had been lived that way but he could at least stick to the less gruesome parts. It was probably the first time in a long while he’d been impressed by any stories about famous people, since she’d met so many that had died before even his grandfather was a twinkle in someone’s eye. Being famous yourself tended to take the shine off of celebrity stories. 

“What about your first life?” He set the guitar down beside him and shifted in his position on the step, propping his back up against the railing and facing her. “How much of that do you remember?”

“About as much as anybody my age would’ve remembered their life.” Charmian shrugged, nonchalantly twirling her finger around the tassel on the blanket. “I didn’t suddenly remember any more when I ascended.”

“What was it like? You said you were a farmer?”

Charmian chuckled. “My family were, yeah. We had a vineyard, grew olives too. Olives are only ready every couple of years though so mostly it was the grape harvest and wine making. Our timetable pretty much revolved around that.”

“Did you have a big family?”

“Two brothers, three sisters. Lot of nieces and nephews.”

“Carmel said you never got married though?”

“No.” She shook her head. “When my dad died things got a little rough, my brother couldn’t afford dowries for all three of us. My older sister was prioritised because she was considered the biggest catch and then when it came to me and my younger sister, since he didn’t like me much I was the last in line. I kind of got left on the shelf, by standards of the time.”

“Oh.” Justin pondered this. “So is that why you said yes when you got offered the avenger gig? I could never quite get why anyone would want to leave their family to do that. It was because you didn’t like your brother?”

“Not really that.” She tipped her head back. Centuries had passed since then and she rarely thought of it. “I loved my family like anybody would, even if Jason was kind of an ass. But since I had just been sitting around, waiting for my life to start and then getting older and knowing it probably wouldn’t happen because I was getting too old to be considered good wife material…”

“At all of twenty something you were too old to marry? That’s not very feminist.”

She gave him a look. “We were Ancient Greek farmers. You think any of us had any notion about equality of the sexes? They were marrying us off at fifteen.”

“Point taken.”

“I wanted to finally do something with my life and they were offering it to me on a plate. It was a purpose in the world. And a good one, when before I’d been expected to wait around until I could be married off and then breed offspring for my husband. Seemed like a hell of a lot more than what I’d been handed otherwise.”

Charmian turned her head to look at him, wondering what he was thinking of her tale. The incident last night had left her feeling a little self-conscious to begin with and Justin’s insistence on asking her so much about herself throughout the day had done nothing to lessen that. Mercifully his expression remained one of mild curiosity.

When she had woken up in the morning she had been acutely embarrassed. There were no more nightmares, but her cheeks had burned remembering the way she’d broken down. He’d had to carry her to bed like a child. He’d had to stay with her because she was scared of bad dreams like a child. Not to mention she had said way too much and made her feelings about him way too clear. Those feelings hadn’t been helped much when she had opened her eyes to still find him spooning her, all warm and solid and smelling nice.

Through a combination of timing, circumstances and social convention at various times, in his past lives as Michael they hadn’t slept together much. On those few occasions her favourite part had been waking up next to him in the morning. She’d be cradled in his arms, he’d kiss her face or her hand and for once she felt like she was the one being looked after rather than the other way around. This morning had reminded her of that precisely because it was so different and less comfortable for her.

The other thing today had reminded her of was the way they used to talk, often for hours when she should have been out hunting. It had always been a notable trait of his. Even in the lives where he’d been raised to be more pampered and consequently more arrogant or self-absorbed, he’d always maintained a curiosity about other people. The man possessed an ability to make you feel like the most fascinating person in the room by the way he’d devote his attention to a conversation. Of course he was also cheeky and a little on the edge with his wit, to the point of being infuriating, but though it skirted the line it remained the right side of charming.

“So if you had nieces and nephews, does that mean you still have living relatives somewhere?” It suddenly occurred to Justin. He had no idea how many ‘greats’ you would have to add on after so many centuries. It was pretty weird to contemplate.

“It’s possible, but I think it’s unlikely.” Charmian said. “In that kind of time and for a long while after a lot of people never saw adulthood, only took one illness to wipe out the entire family. I’d be surprised if the line survived so long.”

“You never kept track?”

“No. Like I said, after I ascended that life became more like something that I’d watched than something that had happened to me. Only time I ever went back was when some idiot demon thought he could manipulate me by hurting my sister.”

“I’m guessing you disproved the theory?”

She raised a mischievous eyebrow at him. “Violently.”

Justin chuckled. “You know, I’m enjoying this.”

“My family tree interests you that much?” She laughed, scoffing.

“Yes, actually. It’s cool to hear about all this history and stuff. Plus it’s kind of nice to know something about you which isn’t related to how many guys you could beat up at once. You’re pretty pleasant to talk to when it’s not about who’s chasing after us today and how long we have to be shut up in this jail cell.”

It was a chastening response that made her sigh. “At least this cell’s an improvement on the last one.”

“Yeah.” He picked up his guitar again. “At least we got a little air and some scenery.”

“And a guitar.” She nodded towards it. “What else you got in your repertoire?”

Justin settled the instrument back on his lap and his fingers immediately began picking a Donny Hathaway number. Charmian slumped further down into her seat and pushed off again with her foot, letting the swing go again and listening to him as it rocked.

**

Three very sullen faces were visible around the long oak table. None of them had looked especially content or upbeat for a while, but right now they were positively brooding. Scowls were the order of the day and a distinct air of frustration filled the room.

Zac had his feet propped up on the table and his arms tightly folded across his chest. His expression was almost belligerent; it dared the universe to try something else to piss him off. Carmel was wrapping an afro curl around her finger, staring at a point on the wall as if it was some informant she was trying to intimidate. Her gaze was steel and she was glaring. There was a dark sneer marring her usual warm and friendly face.

Sitting bolt upright with his hands settled on the table in front of him, Lucas looked like some king at the head of a banquet table. The only description for the look on his face was ‘murderous.’ Every muscle in his body was coiled, screaming out for release. There was nothing he’d like more than to start trashing the place, throwing some things and generally taking his frustration out on everything and everyone in the vicinity.

Carmel drummed her fingers against the axe and bat on her wrist before finally speaking.

“Not to state the obvious, but I didn’t see that one coming.”

“You just didn’t kick Marguerite’s ass enough,” Zac grumbled. “I thought it’d be soothing to watch you smack her down but there she was, dumped on the floor where she belongs with a sword through her weasel little guts and I still don’t feel better.”

“Well forgive me if it wasn’t spectacular enough.” Lucas’s blue eyes rolled heavenward. “Next time somebody attempts to usurp me I’ll come up with something more extravagant for you. It’ll certainly be soon enough.”

“This is such a mess. How did Char deal with this all the time?”

“She didn’t have to. Nobody was stupid enough to challenge her to the trial. None of them could take her and they knew it.”

Zac shot a pointed glance at him. “None of them can take you but they’re still trying.”

“Alex might have a shot.” Lucas slouched back in his chair and stared contemplatively at his wrist guard. “I’m both grateful and suspicious about the fact that he hasn’t tried. He’s usually much more vocal against me. Dare I say, he’s even been kind of helpful. Not sure what game he’s running.”

“I miss Char.” Carmel let out a sigh. It wasn’t only the political situation. Charmian was her best friend and she hated not knowing where she was or if she was alright.

“Me too.” Lucas’s mouth was set in a thin, grim line. “I do not want to spend the next month engaging in trial by combat to keep hold of her job. We don’t have time for this bullshit.”

“Any news on Char? Or Justin?” Zac asked. The response was a shaking of the head.

“No. On the one hand I kind of don’t want there to be in case the boss asks, but…”

“I know.” Carmel picked at a fingernail. “It’s killing me too, not knowing. Do you really think there’s no way we could convince the boss to forgive her?”

“She’s pissed him off by escaping his punishment. It’s hurt his pride, knowing she’s human and still eluding us.”

“Have we come up with any way around his instructions yet?” Zac asked.

“No.” She grimaced. “The second we see her we’re duty bound to bring her in and if we disobey we’re next to lose our privileges.”

“For fuck’s sake, this is so screwed. I…”

Zac was interrupted by the unceremonious arrival of Alex. Teleporting in unannounced was a bit of a faux pas in their word but there he was. Immediately the three of them all stiffened, sitting up straighter and eyeing him warily. He looked uncharacteristically dishevelled. Normally he was neat as a pin and eerily collected (though he took the edge off with a lot of sarcasm). Now he looked harassed.

“Is this a private meeting or can anyone join?”

Lucas knew Zac was going to make a hostile retort almost before Zac did, and shot him a warning glance. “What can we do for you?”

“Before I begin - I heard about Marguerite. My apologies, I’ll be having words with her.”

“Like you didn’t put her up to it,” Zac mumbled.

He was entirely wrong about that. Marguerite may have been one of Alexander’s subordinates but she was a bit of a rogue element. She had annoyed him as much as Lucas with her foolish challenge. She’d never had a shot; he would have laughed in her face if she’d mentioned she was going to try. Besides, trying to leapfrog Alex in that manner to gain supremacy was as much insult to him as to Lucas.

“Never mind, she’s learned her lesson. Now what can we do for you?” Lucas repeated.

“This wasn’t the way I wanted to play this at all, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ll skip right to the point - I’ve lost Charmian.”

“Huh?” Carmel stared at him quizzically, brows drawn together. “You’ve lost Charmian? When did you have Charmian?”

“The short version is that I managed to find her and I’ve been in communication with her for some days now,” Alex admitted to the shock of his audience. “She’s filled me in on everything and I’ve been trying to help her come up with a plan.”

“And why the hell would she trust you?” Zac was dubious.

“Because I’m on your side, much as you idiots refuse to accept that.” He rolled his eyes, but took a seat at the table next to Zac anyway. “Anyway, she and I agreed that since Michael neglected to give me the same orders as you guys that I would use the loophole to act as her mole. I thought I could help her stay off the radar and maybe if we came up with anything useful I could let her know. I was trying to come up with some kind of panic button for her to call me if Hell found her. Anyway, upshot of it is that she didn’t make our arranged rendezvous, she’s not where she said she would be… seems she’s disappeared and taken Michael with her.”

“Michael? Why would she have taken the boss?”

“No, her Michael. Like I said she told me everything.”

“Apparently she didn’t,” Lucas’s voice was a warning in his team’s heads, unheard by Alex. “Don’t mention Justin’s name.”

“And she didn’t warn you she was going?” Carmel asked.

“No. I wasn’t sure whether or not to be alarmed, and I wasn’t going to out myself to you guys until I was sure in case you got forced to tell Michael, but now Nathaniel’s disappeared  too I feel needs must.”

“Nate’s gone too?” Now he really had Lucas’s attention.

“When I first found her she was going to the church to try and find him, she said he’d been unreachable for a few days,” Alex explained. He was drumming his foot, clearly agitated. “I promised to look for him but I was having trouble tracking down his digs. I got there and it looks like somebody left in a hurry. I’d also guess that somebody’s been there looking for him since then, it looked like somebody had been going through his papers and then I ran into trouble on my way out. How far had he got with the antidote for the poison?”

“She may not have told him everything but seems she told him a lot,” Carmel noted silently. Lucas met her eye, a glint on his face. They didn’t need the telepathy to make an agreement.

“He was making progress,” Lucas replied. They had nothing to lose by co-operating with Alex at this stage. Things were so dire that they were going to have to trust Charmian’s instinct about him. “You think maybe somebody didn’t want him getting closer?”

“Maybe he even had it,” Alex said. “I know he was officially retired and all but I’ve never known him to ignore calls, even if it’s to politely tell you to buzz off. If he’s gone something’s up.”

“Maybe the same something that sent Charmian running?” Carmel theorised.

“Maybe. Whatever it is, we’re running out of time. Charmian has been absent too long. It’s getting noticed and despite my repeated threats some of our underlings are not discreet. If word that she’s human isn’t back to the pit yet it will be soon. I believe her exact words were that when it happens it’s going to be quote ‘payback time’ unquote.”

“Half of Hell is going to be ordered to go after her and the other half are going to do it for fun.” Lucas clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles went white. His friend was vulnerable out there and he couldn’t protect her.

“So, there you have it.” Alex said. “Now you know everything I know. What are we going to do, and how can we do it so that the boss never realises that I’m still technically free to help her?”