It was hard to wake up alone the morning after the night before without reading too much into the fact.

Justin did his utmost. He didn’t go straight out to look for Charmian. He distracted himself by humming Coldplay and trying to think of things to do to pass another day in hiding. Showering time was stretched out beyond all reasonable limits, as was the time taken to choose an outfit and get clothed. The bedroom and bathroom were left in a much tidier state than would normally have been the case straight after he’d had a morning shower. Eventually, however, he had to walk out into the kitchen and face her – assuming she was even there.

She was indeed there, and nothing seemed obviously amiss about her. The appearance was relaxed. Her hair was scraped back off her face and piled into a haphazard bun high on her head. She was plainly dressed in a black vest and jeans, her bare feet padding around the kitchen while she briskly whisked eggs in a bowl. At the sound of his approach, she glanced up and flashed him a smile.

“Morning. I’m making an omelette if you want one?”

“Sure.”

The table was already laid out with cutlery, orange juice and a pot of coffee - blessed coffee. Justin wasted no time in overfilling a mug with it and taking recklessly large gulps. It burned his tongue slightly but he needed the jolt.

“You sleep alright?” He asked.

“Mmm. Like a rock,” she said. “First decent sleep I’ve had in a while. You?”

“Fine, thanks.”

Her demeanour was calm and her expression amiable. It was almost odd to see her doing something so domesticated as cooking breakfast, though nice. The silence was weighty but not wholly uncomfortable as he continued to sip the coffee and observe her. It wasn’t long before she was putting a plate down in front of him and sliding into the chair opposite.

“So…” she began.

“So?” Justin picked up his fork and sampled the meal. It was a little overdone but not bad; he wasn’t really that hungry however. He wasn’t even sure why he’d accepted the offer.

“I have to confess to an ulterior motive.”

“Really?” His head remained bent towards his plate but he lifted his eyes to hers.

“Well….” Charmian said. She licked her lips and fiddled with her cutlery, looking sheepish. “I wanted to talk to you about leaving.”

“Oh?” That was what not what he’d been expecting.

“I know how much you like it here and I hate to say it, but we can’t be here forever. We’re already running low on stuff and really I need to get back to the city so I can get hold of Alex.”

“Where? Back to that god forsaken apartment?”

He hadn’t meant to sound harsh but his tone made her cringe. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s going to be no good to us if we demon proof your house because they’ll be trying to get access and they’ll work out that’s what we’ve done pretty quick. We don’t want to give them that kind of warning. Also me coming and going from your house is probably going to make the gossip rags talk. You probably wouldn’t need that even on a normal day of the week, never mind us letting the demons know that we’re shacked up.”

His lips parted in a slight grin. “Shacked up?”

“You can make fun of my phrasing but you can’t avoid the subject, JT.”

The sigh was loud and slightly whiny. His fork kept moving around his plate and stabbing at his food, but he was more playing with it than trying to eat it.

“Yeah, I suppose. It’s just been a fuck of a lot better here than in that damn apartment. Can’t even suggest moving to your actual place because even if you weren’t a fugitive, it is equally as tiny. Why did you have to get yourself kicked out of Lucas’s again?”

There was a teasing lilt in his voice and he obviously intended to be light, but a pinch of truth remained. Charmian smiled sympathetically.

“I know. It bites, I’m sorry.”

“Eh, we gotta do what we gotta do I suppose. Shouldn’t take long to pack the car if you wanted to head out this morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Clearly he wasn’t planning to finish his food, so Charmian picked up his plate as well as her empty one before striding back over to the counter to begin washing the dishes. Immortals still did mundane things like this, but now she was human she found a new distraction in it. There was something about busying her hands which helped keep her mind clear. Justin wordlessly came to stand beside her and picked up a towel, ready to do the drying. Together they quietly worked.

Once finished she turned to look at him, only to find that he was still absently fiddling with the towel. Gently she took it from him and tossed it back on the counter top. He looked so forlorn that she couldn’t help reaching up on her toes to brush his mouth with hers.

“I really am sorry.”

Well, at least that answered any questions he’d had about the previous evening. He’d expected her to say something or want to talk about it, and had been surprised that she didn’t bring it up. If it had gone on much longer he might have even started to worry that she was planning to ignore it altogether, so it was a little bit of a relief. Justin let out another mildly petulant sigh before wrapping his arms around her and giving her a quick squeeze.

“It’s not your fault, Char. I’m just a little bummed.”

“We could at least steal some stuff back from here, might do a little better keeping us entertained.” Her hand brushed the nape of his neck.

“Sure. If you want to get the stuff in the bedroom I can pack up that stuff from in here.”

Since his reaction to the news was so obviously one of resignation and wanting to get on with the inevitable, Charmian decided it was best to simply acquiesce. She let him go and immediately turned to start tossing their respective clothes into bags.

The pair of them were both dawdling and taking longer than strictly necessary to pack.  There wasn’t all that much to go but they were both trying to prolong the moment. They fell into a slow rhythm, stacking complete boxes and bags next to the door for Justin to take out to the car. It was a source of consternation but even with the years of upper body workouts she’d got from using weapons Justin could still lift a little more than Charmian could at this point. (It probably didn’t help that she’d not been exercising enough during their enforced indoor time – no more supernatural help, all muscle tone now had to be earned and maintained).

No matter how they procrastinated though it was not an infinite job. Eventually it was the two of them standing by the door with only a single bag left to go. Justin picked it up and slung it over his shoulder but still made no moves to actually leave the cabin. Charmian gave him a moment, but when the seconds passed without further movement she held out her hand.

“Ready to go?”

His expression said no but the hand he slipped into hers gave his assent. She stepped outside and he trailed after, briefly pausing to lock the cabin behind them.

“Can you just promise me that if I put you in charge of the iPod we won’t be listening to me all the way back?”

“Meh,” she replied as they descended the steps and onto the gravel path. “I’m in more of a ‘fuck the world’ kind of mood. What’s your rock selection like?”

“I don’t know, grunge always did me better for that.”

It was an answer, but it came from the wrong person.

Immediately Charmian halted, her grip on Justin’s hand becoming vice like as a signal to follow suit. Who had said that and where were they? The voice sounded a little familiar, but she couldn’t place it and was too busy twisting and turning to scan their surroundings to really concentrate on the memory.

“Get behind me.”

It went against every instinct in his body, particularly since she was now human and as vulnerable as he was, but he was going to have to trust her experience. Justin mutely complied and tried not to shake.

Eventually a tall, auburn haired figure strolled casually out from behind Justin’s truck. The oversized vehicle had made a perfect cover, but with a face finally Charmian was able to place the voice.

“Lillith,” she said. “Long time no see.”

“Yes, well, you know how it is.”

If she’d still been invulnerable Charmian would have made a disparaging comment about that. She did know how it was, and the reason she so rarely saw this particular demon was that this one was a coward who preferred running errands for others to actually putting her own neck on the line. Lillith was Anton’s equally devious but ultimately less daring sister and for that reason she’d never risen as high as he had. That said she was still intelligent and still not to be underestimated at the best of times. Now, knowing the disadvantage she was at, Charmian wasn’t going to antagonise her with unnecessary insults. She wasn’t above goading her but any shots she took needed to be at the right moment for the right reason.

“So, don’t suppose you’re going to let me in on how the hell you found him?”

“Hell is right.” Lillith smiled brightly. On anybody else it would have looked a welcoming and friendly expression, but there was a hard set line in her chin which added malice. The all black ensemble didn’t help either. “We had to pull in a lot of favours to keep locator spells on repeat for that long but I knew he’d have to set foot out of whatever little haven you’d set up for him eventually. About fifteen minutes ago we finally hit pay dirt. Going somewhere, were you?”

“Never you mind. Now, are we going to keep pretending at niceties or is there actually some purpose to your presence? For a change?”

The false bravado served a dual function. She wanted to keep Lillith believing she was still an avenger as long as possible, but every leisurely second she took to speak was a second she could spend steeling herself for what was about to happen. There was no point worrying about the strength difference any more. She knew it was there and it was simply a disadvantage she was going to have to work around. They had never trained solely on strength, after all. They had trained on strategy and how to use an opponent’s momentum against them. They had trained on how to compensate for their own weaknesses and exploit their enemy’s – and if it had to be anybody, at least it was Lillith who didn’t do much fighting on the regular. It was time to swallow the tide of emotion that threatened, time to suppress the fear, and do what she could. Who knew, maybe if she got a lucky break it would even be enough.

Justin was still clinging to her hand and with a squeeze Charmian signalled him to let go. With both hands now by her side she began to concentrate.

“Well, this is fun, isn’t it?” Lillith rocked back on her heels and peered at Justin, enjoying the way he was clearly afraid of her. “You standing there terrified, wondering who I’ve brought with me. Me standing here marvelling at the way you’re acting like you have a hope in hell of protecting him. How’s mortal life treating you, by the way?”

Well there went that hope - her secret was out. She couldn’t dwell on it, she had to keep concentrating.

“Cat got your tongue? Never mind. Maybe I could have a chat with Michael here if you’re not feeling chatty?”

And there went that hope too.

Desolation rose up in her throat like vomit but she swallowed it back down. That wasn’t a luxury any more. Although she’d complained about how poor a human she made, she’d actually been doing something entirely human ever since she’d lost her immortality. She’d wallowed in self-pity when she should have been accepting and dealing with her situation, not acting like she was helpless against her emotions. She didn’t get to do that any more. Justin’s soul depended on it.

She felt a little better when finally her concentration paid off with the smooth and familiar hilt in her hand. Summoning was a little more effort now she was human but at least it still came when called. The weight of the sword was comforting in her grasp.

Now it was Lillith’s turn to look worried. “How did you do that? They said you were human!”

Charmian lowered her voice. “When I step forward you step back. When I say go you run back into that cabin.”

“Yes.” Justin wasn’t entirely sure he meant that or if his body would actually allow him to leave her to fight for him, but he would try. He was trying to trust in her but a traitorous part of his brain was asking what he would do if Lillith overpowered Charmian – it wouldn’t take her long to wait him out, they didn’t have that many supplies left.

“Never mind,” Lillith tossed her hair back haughtily. “If the slaughter takes an extra five seconds it’s no matter to me.”

“Lord.” Charmian took a few steps forward, and the sound of feet crunching on gravel told her Justin was following her instructions. Hopefully that should be enough distance. “You always were one for witless prattle. Almost makes me miss your brother, at least he’s amusing.”

Lillith cocked her head, smiled viciously and then summoned her own sword. She charged at Charmian, who waited until the last moment to duck and roll beneath the blade’s swing. It was a classic move that she’d perfected to an art in her many years, and the successful execution of it was an instant confidence boost. Her muscles remembered their work. The impact as she hit the ground jarred a lot more than usual and she was clumsier springing to her feet, but overall it came off exactly like it was supposed to – anticipate your opponent’s move, adjust accordingly, execute. The gravel scraped at her bare arm and her shoulder would be bruised, but the important thing was that her head was still attached.

Lillith was quicker and already bringing down her sword as Charmian rose from the ground, but again she anticipated it and managed to block. Lillith rained down blows at speed, feint after lunge after stab, but by keeping a clearer head this time Charmian was able to concentrate on the signals which told her where the next one was coming from. It was difficult to find any opening to attack since Lillith was so much quicker and she was using all her strength to parry the blows, exerting herself more than the demon was, but at least she was successfully defending herself and distracting her from Justin. She wasn’t haphazardly hacking away and hoping to get lucky as she had before, as she had feared she would again. She was actually putting up some manner of a fight.

“Run!” She yelled. She couldn’t afford looking to see if Justin was doing it.

Justin was indeed doing it, sprinting for his life. A little voice in the back of his head felt shame for it but another voice was reminding him of the night on the porch, watching her cry because she wished he hadn’t sacrificed himself for her. She wanted him to listen to his self-preservation instinct instead of his urge to defend her, and he was going to do what she told him. He had to let her be the hero; she was far better practised at it.

He got to the door, but when his shaking hands pulled his keys out he promptly dropped them like some idiot in a horror movie. “Gotta be fucking kidding me…”

Mercifully Charmian had found her opening. It wasn’t skill that made Lillith fumble on her feet but a simple rolling of her ankle when she stepped on a rock. That didn’t matter – Charmian didn’t need to win through superior skill or strength, she just needed to win. She seized the opportunity; while her opponent was distracted by the fall she swung her sword at Lillith’s with all the power she could muster. It was knocked right out of her hand, skittering away out of reach. Lillith blocked the next blow with her arm, screaming as the sacred fire burned her flesh, but Charmian’s sword kept coming and was headed for her heart.

“Do it and he dies.”

It could only have been teleportation. Standing behind Lillith and directly in front of Charmian was Anton. Squirming in his grip was a clearly terrified Justin, struggling to breathe through Anton’s hold on his throat.

Had she still been immortal she could have blithely killed the defeated demon on the floor even as she charged him. She would have been fast enough and strong enough to pull it off before he had time to hurt Justin. That was no longer the case and clearly Anton knew it, so Charmian had little choice but to force down the cry building in her throat and lower her sword. She had to allow Lillith to scramble away even though she had been within an inch of victory. God, if only they had left earlier…

“You know…” Anton said cheerfully, “this is just swell. You’re human and out of my hair, I finally have Justin who even better turns out to be Michael, and I have the luxury of choosing whether I kill you now or just enjoy watching you suffer with the knowledge that you really, really lost this time. This may qualify as my best day ever.”

“How did you find out?” Her voice rang hollow and it made Anton’s grin even wider.

“That you’re human? Your ex minions are shockingly lacking in discretion; I thought you’d have trained them better. That he’s Michael? Well you nearly had me there, you sly little vixen you.” He shook his head at her with a supercilious wink. “It wasn’t until I found out that you’d run away with him and disappeared that it all started to make sense. Can’t think of anybody else you’d do that for. Did you know that our girl Charmian there’s got a bit of a thing for you?”

He was addressing Justin, who couldn’t respond because the grip on his throat was still too tight. His eyes were starting to bulge a little with the lack of air. It wasn’t enough to make him pass out but it was enough to keep him panicked.

“He knows what you are, you know.” It was another desperate gambit, playing for time, but it was all she had. “Be difficult to corrupt him now.”

“More than I’d planned but hey, I’m an enterprising guy. I got more tricks up my sleeve than that sweetheart. And heck, I could always just ask your pal Nathaniel.”

Her chest constricted. “What?”

“Oh yeah, that was the other fun thing I found out. Seems your old man there was getting very close to an antidote for the poison my good ol’ arch rival Mastema’s been trying out, the one nobody thought worked. Which immediately begged the question of why the fuck would anybody look for an antidote to poison that doesn’t work? So I picked Nathaniel up for a nice little chat. He is impressively stoic it has to be said. I thought guides were pretty much wimps but he’s held out longer than some of your avengers did. And… what is it you guys call him, Bob? Bob’s not one to hold back, so it’s pretty impressive.”

The worst thing she could do was show her dismay, so she went for sarcasm instead. “Ahh. The part where the villain lays out his entire plan because he can’t resist showing off.”

“Oh sweetie, we’ve been enemies such a long time now. Can’t you give me a little more credit? I haven’t even laid out five percent of my plan - just the parts that I know will torture you most. But as fun as that’s been, I think it’s time for us to depart. Justin’s got some people to meet.”

Why, why, why hadn’t she killed him decades ago? She’d had every opportunity. Her team had taken him in for questioning and then released him more times than she cared to count. Why had she underestimated him so? Why had she believed his clearly undeserved reputation for incompetence? She was about to lose the love of her life and her most trusted advisor was being tortured because of her foolish, foolish arrogance. It wasn’t the loss of her strength but her myopic dismissal of an opponent she knew to be cunning and resourceful that was about to lose her everything. How many times had she lectured everyone on avoiding exactly that mistake?

Lillith had recovered her swagger now she was standing safe with her brother. The pair of them stood there, glowing with their triumph, and once again she wanted to crumple to her knees. Being human seemed to consist of feeling like that a lot. What could she do? She’d held her own against one but two would have been too much even if Justin wasn’t in such direct danger – especially since the new arrival was a much better fighter. Now she couldn’t so much as raise her sword in case Anton made good on his threat. The only reason he hadn’t already made off with his quarry was his inability to resist gloating. What could she do? It was one thing to swallow the sense of doom to fight, but what did she do when she couldn’t fight?

She had to find another way and she had to do it before Anton disappeared with Justin. It was a problem to be solved. One tactic had failed, what else was left open to her? What did she normally do in situations where military force wouldn’t get it done?

If you couldn’t fight you negotiated. So what did she have to haggle with?

“Well you could do that, but I think you want to stay.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Anton tutted condescendingly at her.

“Not on my account.” She made a show of shrugging. “You were just always one for a good deal.”

“She’s got nothing.” Lillith sneered. “Despite the sword in her hand she’s definitely human and she’s got nothing to bargain with. Let’s go.”

“No, I’m in a charitable mood.” Anton batted his eyes. “I know she’s uselessly playing for time but gosh darn it, I’m intrigued enough to play along.”

“You want to get back in with the bosses, right? All those people you disappointed when I kicked your ass into touch?”

“Ohh, feisty!” He feigned fear, but Charmian was beyond caring if he mocked her. “Still you’re not wrong. Even I can admit you beat me fair and square.”

“Which is why you want him. Especially now you’ve worked out who he is. Ultimate coup, right?”

“Right.” More sarcastic shock and awe.

“Wrong.”

“Wrong? See now I really am intrigued.” He laughed. “So what’s the ultimate coup if not him? What could possibly be better than handing them your little poochiekins here, who’s proved so difficult a catch in all these years?” He squeezed at Justin’s throat again and Justin let out a strangled protest.

“Handing them the woman who’s spent the last couple of millennia ruining all their plans, kicking all their asses and pissing them off.”

Three sets of eyes widened simultaneously as they realised what she was suggesting. Anton was so shocked he having a hard time keeping up his belligerent exterior. If Justin could have talked he would have been screaming; even letting her die for him was better than this.

“Let me guess.” Anton tried to recover his composure. “I let him walk and you come along quietly?”

“No, you let him walk AND I get a binding agreement that you stay away from him from now on. Then I come along quietly.”

Justin couldn’t even shake his head, Anton had him so tightly. All he could do instead was widen his eyes at her and hope she saw the desperation there. He could not let her do that for him, he couldn’t. They had plans for him so clearly they wouldn’t hurt him. Nathaniel and the avengers who had been taken were immortal; they had divine healing and a higher threshold for pain. They couldn’t die no matter what atrocities they suffered, but she was human and if they broke her she would not mend.

Through narrowed eyes Anton studied Charmian. She was breathing heavily and though she was trying to remain impassive he could see the fear shining in her face. Although he knew her situation and that there could be no trick to this from her perspective, it still never hurt to consider every permutation.

“Alright,” he finally said. “It’d probably suit the bosses’ plan better to have him, but I doubt even they could resist seeing your lovely face. And either way I feel a promotion coming on so it’s all the same to me.”

“Fine. So you agree to my terms?”

“I agree to your terms. Shall we shake on it?”

Charmian snorted. “Do I look like I was born yesterday? Time to bleed, Anton.”

“Oh very well.”

Anton pushed Justin into Lillith, tossing him aside as if he was a rag doll and not six feet of grown man. If Justin had thought that was any respite he was wrong - Lillith promptly twisted his arm behind his back and clapped her hand over his mouth. At least it wasn’t his throat this time.

He held out his palm and an elaborate athamé appeared in it, the handle studded with gemstones. Making a deal with a demon would never have been an option open to her as an avenger – even trying would find you instantly stripped of your powers as it was a corruption of their purpose – but mortals were more than able. Few were aware that a blood oath from the demon was necessary to make it binding, much to their cost, but even somebody as untrustworthy as Anton was then beholden to it once made. Without that guarantee she’d never have considered it.

Anton drove the point of the dagger deep into his palm and dragged it across without so much as a flinch. Turning his hand, he allowed the blood to drip down to earth.

“I do solemnly promise to adhere to your terms as previously stated, Charmian. If you give yourself up, I agree that I will cease my pursuit of Justin Timberlake forevermore.”

“Okay then.”

Charmian hadn’t quite expected the wave of fear that hit her. She’d really done it. She had just delivered herself unto Hell so that they could torture her. The horror that awaited her was unthinkable.

Yet even as she looked sorrowfully at Justin, and the tears streaming down his face, she knew it was right. He was safe. He wasn’t going to die for her or because of her mistakes again. He was going to live and for that she could take it. She would have to.

She closed her eyes and willed her sword away. When it left her hands, she held them up in surrender.

“Let’s get this over with.”

Anton strolled over, glee positively radiating from him. He would have been a handsome man if the cruelty hadn’t been etched into all his features. He took up her wrists and shackles appeared on them.

“Well. This is going to be an exciting trip for the four of us.”

“What? Three of us, Anton!” She yelped in alarm. Her blood felt like syrup in her veins and her heart beat sluggishly. Time seemed to slow. “You can’t renege on a blood oath!”

“I can’t, no.” He shrugged.

“Which is why Justin’s coming with me!” Lillith smiled sweetly. “Won’t that be fun?”

This time Charmian really did drop to the floor, her knees buckling underneath her. Her eyes stared ahead of her, unseeing and unfocused as the fatal error sank in. She had done it again. Not two minutes after she had cursed herself for underestimating an opponent, she’d then done it again. She hadn’t been specific enough; she’d meant him to swear that the entire pit would stay away, not only him.  Of course he would exploit any loophole, and Lillith might have been a coward but she matched him well enough in intelligence and guile to cotton on to his ruse.

She had failed, even more so than she ever had before. She was his guardian and she had failed him. She had damned herself and she hadn’t even saved Justin.

“Well then, got a long journey so we best get going. Tally ho!”