POV BETTY
In the end, of course, I said yes to the angel. Not because he was sad. And I absolutely didn't care that he had made a mistake. What bothered me was that Gabr...Azazel only wanted to get to know me because Lucifer had asked them to get acquainted with mortal women.
And of course, I also cared about the fate of the mortal infant who had ended up in Hell by mistake.
Spy on Lucifer? Hmm... Alright then, I'll keep meeting Azazel.
I've never spied on anyone before. Not even at work did I pay attention to who was doing what—or not doing what.
And now I'm supposed to spy on Lucifer?
I think Uriel would have been better off choosing someone else for this task.
Selma, for example. After all, Naberius is only getting to know Selma under orders too. Uriel could have initiated Selma into this secret as well.
Or perhaps it matters to the angel that a guardian, Azazel, is trying to court me, while a demon, Naberius, is courting Selma? I wonder if an angel makes a distinction between a demon and a guardian.
I was sure there had to be a rational explanation for why Uriel, the angel, had initiated me instead of Selma. Maybe Uriel values guardians just a tiny bit more than demons after all.
Of course, for rational reasons I can't initiate Selma into this secret, but I'll look out for her. I can't tell her anything, because I need to appear unsuspecting if I want to spy on Lucifer. Like someone who has no idea that Lucifer sent these demons and guardians into the human world with a specific mission.
And what am I even supposed to feel like now? Chosen? Chosen twice over? Chosen three times over? Ugh, that's difficult to answer.
I'm glad the days off I assigned to myself are over. It's time to start thinking about my FREElance career again.
My entire morning was spent planning the strategy for my independent work.
Yes. I'm going to build my FREElance career thoughtfully, step by step.
As long as I was working on my concrete plans, writing them down on paper with a pencil, I didn't think about Azazel.
I'm glad that from Uriel's words I know I only represent a task to this guardian named Azazel. Lucifer simply ordered them to get acquainted with mortal women.
OHH!
Maybe this intense disappointment is premature after such a fresh acquaintance, but it still feels terrible that none of it is real. He's merely carrying out the orders of his boss—the Devil. He isn't interested in me. He's interested in Lucifer. He wants to please the Devil.
Oh, that damned Lucifer!
"Alright, little girl... Then I'll take revenge on Lucifer for this. He sent his lackeys after us without caring that they'd break mortal women's hearts. Mine too. And I'll find out from Azazel what Lucifer is planning, just like Uriel asked," I thought resentfully.
For the hundredth time, I admitted to myself that I liked Azazel. My heart breaking wasn't poetic exaggeration—it was a real danger if I got even closer to him.
As the afternoon approached, I checked the clock more and more often. Gabr...Azazel was still at the company.
I'm not going to overthink this, oh no. Lucifer and Azazel want to use me for something. I'll find out what the Devil is planning, and I'll tell—
But I was overthinking it. And overfeeling it too. My emotions became more and more mixed. And my head grew more and more confused.
"Well, maybe I'm just a simple mortal, but I'll show him that not even the Devil can—"
I couldn't finish the thought because my phone rang at that moment. Celestine asked me to stop by later.
"Of course, Gabriel and I will come by after basketball," I promised.
Yes, I also have to be careful to use Azazel's human name in front of those who haven't been initiated.
Soon I had to start getting ready for the meeting.
I had barely brushed my hair and tied it into a ponytail when someone rang the doorbell.
It was an angel. THAT angel. The one I had seen in the police station basement. Azazel's ex.
"Well now, lately only supernatural visitors come to my door," I thought mockingly.
Through the peephole, I tried to observe the angel's expression.
She didn't look friendly.
Even so, I opened the door.
"Coming in?" I asked in a tone as if we were close acquaintances.
The angel shook her head. Then she reached for my hand.
Seriously. Without any warning or permission, Azazel's angel ex-girlfriend grabbed my hand. Not too tightly. Her touch wasn't unpleasant, and there was nothing threatening in her behavior.
For a short while she silently looked into my eyes, then her gaze lost focus.
Something strange happened as a consequence. It felt as if the ground had suddenly been pulled out from beneath my feet—I became dizzy. Then the angel squeezed my right hand.
And then a flood of visions followed. The entire history of humanity flashed before my eyes—but in reverse. I was falling toward a center, inside my own mind. Something pulled my consciousness like a magnet toward a dense core. I had never felt such concentrated, sharp force before.
Then that force spread from my consciousness throughout my body.
Was it really only inside my body?
Then it slowly became clear that I was feeling the creation of the world.
Only then did the angel release my hand.
"From now on, you bear the mark."
That was all she said, and before I could ask more, she disappeared just as she had at the police station.
"Wonderful," I thought, perhaps already far too indifferently.
I really had grown accustomed to the presence of the supernatural.
"An angel marked me, whatever that means. And Azazel gave me a talisman."
Those were facts. Not chaotic thoughts and emotions.
"Seriously... where did I put the talisman? Azazel made me promise to always wear it."
Of course, I remembered leaving the bracelet on my nightstand. I had taken it off before showering. Now I fastened it back onto my wrist. A guardian's protection can't hurt either. I'm taking the promise more seriously now, and the talisman will always stay on me.
According to Naberius, something is written on it in the Enochian language. I'm definitely going to interrogate the demon properly about the talisman later.
Now I really had to hurry with getting ready. I put on my pale pink sports outfit. This shade of pink highlighted the freckles around my nose. I loved them. I never understood women who tried every possible method to get rid of their freckles. But that's their choice. Let them be happier. That's what matters.
Of course, a strand of hair had already fallen in front of my face. I pinned it back with two simple hairpins. During basketball it would just get in the way if strands kept falling into my eyes.
And I didn't want Azazel to be better than me.
Although... a guardian might possess abilities that give him advantages in any sport. Today I'll find out whether he has some supernatural ability that gives him an edge over a mortal in sports.
The sports field wasn't far away, but if I didn't have to meet Azazel, and if I hadn't promised Celestine we'd stop by after basketball, I would've gone by bicycle.
On foot I could get there in fifteen minutes, so I already had to leave—or rather, I would have had to leave if I hadn't needed to sit down because of some strange, inexplicable sensation or condition.
Because I could feel that something had started happening to me.
"The angel marked me."
Only now was I truly shocked. Until now, I had naively believed that apart from the vision, the angel's touch would have no other consequences.
I got lost in my thoughts. In my feelings. And of course, now all of it was connected to Azazel. Because now, when I thought about him, not only did his physical form appear in my imagination, but I could feel his essence too.
"Is he really immortal?"
The question merely flashed through my thoughts, because now I truly had to pull myself together and leave as quickly as possible.
I'll think about everything later. About all of it.
In the hallway near the door, I was tying the laces of my sneakers into a bow when someone rang my doorbell again.
"At this point, only Lucifer himself hasn't visited me from this supernatural circus," I thought mockingly.
A week ago I would have laughed at the ridiculous idea that someday the Devil himself might drink tea in my living room. Now my heartbeat skipped for a moment when the thought crossed my mind that maybe Satan himself was ringing my doorbell.
"Oh my God! What have I gotten myself into?!"
Carefully, I stepped to the door and peeked through the peephole.
"If it's the Devil—"
My brain tried to force an unnecessary train of thought on me. Even if Lucifer was standing at my door, I wouldn't recognize him. I had never seen the Devil before. Naturally. And what could I, a simple mortal, even do if the Devil visited me?
No, it wasn't Satan visiting me. It was only my new neighbor.
I had already seen him a few times through the window, entering or leaving the building.
Paul Mora. That's how he introduced himself. A biology teacher. He had moved here recently. He saw that I was just about to leave for somewhere, so he kept the introduction brief. He only rang the bell to finally introduce himself.
Strange man. He kept such a low profile that since moving here, we hadn't met face to face even once. We hadn't run into each other in the stairwell either.
I think he only leaves his apartment when he goes to work.
"Strange guy, but at least human beings ring my doorbell too, not just supernatural creatures," I thought ironically.
Paul Mora's introduction only took up five minutes of my time, but I wouldn't have reached the sports field on time if I hadn't taken out my bicycle.
"We'll walk back to my place with Azazel later to drop off the bicycle before we go to Celestine's pub," I decided.
Oh, and I didn't even mention what a decent place it is. People don't go there to get drunk—they go there to drink tea, coffee, talk, and play board games. Chess, rummy, and card games often came out during the afternoons at Celestine's pub. Don't misunderstand. There was no gambling going on there.
It was a very decent, normal place.
I think the kind of people who visit a pub also depends on the owner's personality and character. Celestine ran a civilized pub filled with intelligent company.
So now, finally, completely by accident, there's a reason for Azazel to walk me home.
If he thinks I only used the bicycle as a trick—that I only rode it to our meeting so I'd have an excuse to make him escort me home—I'll notice.
And if he thinks I only tricked him so I could finally invite him upstairs for coffee, then that is exactly what I'll do to him.
I'll invite him in for coffee before we go to Celestine's.
We'll get one tiny step closer to each other if I let him into my personal space.
If he wants more than that, if he wants to get even closer to me, then next time he will have to make the move. How exactly—that's for him to figure out.
I'm curious what kind of idea or trick he'll come up with if he wants to get even closerto me.
"Now even a guardian is going to drink coffee in my living room. An angel has already drunk from one of my mugs."
Okay, the truth was that supernatural beings suddenly entering my life was strange.
And now I really had to hurry on my bicycle.