bedeviled & beyond 06 - bedeviled & befouled by sam cheever

abuse. She lifted a single, blonde eyebrow and waited, obviously unrepentant. I slammed my lips closed, deciding it wasn’t worth it. “I hate you.”
    She grinned. “I know you don’t mean that, Astra.”
    “Do you?”
    She leaned in and kissed my cheek and then blipped away. Sighing, I briefly considered popping over to the court and then realized that I might as well speak to my father since I was at the castle. I turned around, intending to go in search of him, and stopped, my breath stalling in my chest.
    “Hello, Astra.”
    Tears filled my eyes. I took a step toward him and stopped, unsure how I would be received.
    Emo smiled at me and opened his arms. I flew into them, sobbing my relief. With my powers back, I could see his aura and it was more silver than gray, more light than dark. Emo had passed his Settling without succumbing to the siren call of the dark.
    “I’ve missed you so much, partner.”
    He kissed the top of my head, holding me tight. “I missed you too, boss.”
    I laughed at the old title. I hadn’t been his boss for a long time. But I hoped to return to our old working arrangement as soon as possible. I’d even asked Bob and Ralph for another office. Just in case. I reluctantly stepped back, out of his arms and smiled up at him. “You look good.”
    His dark eyes sparkled with humor. “Yeah? You don’t look so bad yourself.”
    “Now I know you’re lying.” Suddenly self-conscious, I turned away from his intense scrutiny.
    Emo touched my chin and pulled me back to face him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me, Astra.”
    I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel guilt. “You aren’t responsible for what happened to me, Emo. Nobody is except the bitch who magic-raped me. I won’t let you feel bad about it.”
    He laughed softly, shaking his dark head. “You can’t stop me from feeling bad, boss. But I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
    “You don’t have anything to make up to me, Emo, but I will let you come back to work at the Angel Network. I really need you. Darma is anything but a suitable substitute.”
    Something passed through his gaze but he laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe Darma is kicking demon ass.”
    “I know, right? And to all appearances even enjoying it.”
    “What about Slayer?”
    “Oh.” Heat flushed my face. “You heard about that, huh?”
    “I’ve been following you through Flick.”
    “Flick?”
    “He came to see me almost every day. He really helped.” Emo cocked his head, a silky black wave falling across his flawless, golden forehead. “You didn’t know he was one of my sponsors?”
    Frowning, I shook my head. The little twerp had never even hinted that he was involved. I was surprised he had the insight and compassion to help a struggling halfling through his Settling. He’d certainly never shown me any compassion.
    “I’m not surprised. They’re not supposed to tell anybody.”
    “Yeah. Well, he didn’t.” I grinned, reaching out to clasp Emo’s hand. It felt large and warm and real. At last. “I can’t believe you’re here.” And that he’d beaten back the dark. Though I’d never tell him that. He’d been so close to giving in to the evil riding his soul. It was a testament to the Angels’ powers that they’d managed to pull him through. Then it occurred to me that he’d come to my father’s house first rather than coming to see me.
    Suddenly I was slightly miffed.
    “You came to my father first...why?”
    “He’s my other sponsor, Astra. He’s also my guide during the re-acclimation phase.”
    “Oh. I didn’t realize you had to get re-acclimated to Earth. But I guess it makes sense.”
    “Yeah, about that phase...”
    Movement near the door pulled my attention from Emo. My father stood on the other side of the kitchen, his handsome face pleasantly blank, his blue eyes intense. Fear washed through me. I had a sudden premonition that he had bad news for me...about