By the time she got her voice back he slammed the door between them.

"d.a.m.n it-" She pushed at Eric's chest. "Put me down-"

"You are not going after him."

"Like h.e.l.l-he's just going to get himself hurt worse-" A loud snap cut off their argument. More echoed in its wake, from all parts of the house, like the sound of dominoes. .h.i.tting each other as they fell. Dread coiled through Annie. She reached for the latch, tried it.

The door was locked.

The sound of locks clicking over distracted Claire for a second. And Zach used that second to pin her against the wall.

"No one can help you now. He tried to banish me." Rage sliced through his voice. "You brought him here, to send me back-"

"That was before I knew. I told him, Zach. He didn't believe me-he wanted to protect us from you-"

"I am not your enemy."

"You terrified a young girl, trapped us in this house, injured my friend." Claire looked at him, used the hand clutching his shirt to distract him from her other hand, inching down her side. "What am I supposed to think?"

"But you know-what I am, what I want. And my time is fast running out. I need them, to keep from being dragged back there. Again."

"I'm sorry, Zach. You can't have them. I'm so sorry."

She punched her fist into his injured hip.

With a hoa.r.s.e scream he toppled-and took her with him. They hit the floor. Hard. Zach gripped her hand when she tried to roll away from him.

"Let me go-"

"Help me."

His raw plea stopped her fist just inches from his stomach. Jerking free, she sat, wiped at the blood on her chin.

"I am running out of good reasons to even try." His despair shrouded him, along with a desperate fear that tainted his essence like a spreading stain. "Unlock the doors, Zach, and we will talk-"

"There is no time." He lunged at her again. This time she was ready. Her fist caught him just under the ribs, doubled him. Gasping, he clutched the floor, lifted his head. "Please-"

He said it, for the first time since his demands and his temper trapped them here.

"Zach." She knelt in front of him, touched his cheek, startled by the cool skin under her fingers. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"That this body is nearly done? Our-disagreement accelerated the timetable. I can feel the pull-"

"Then we'll just help you on your way." Simon's low, raw voice snapped her head around.

"Get out."

"No."

"Simon-" She climbed to her feet, panic clawing at her. "You can't be here, not for this-"

"Deal." He gripped his arm, his jaw clenched. "Just keep him away from me."

Zach was right behind her, and she knew what he wanted. "No," she said, grabbing his arm when he kept moving toward Simon. "If you want me to help, you're going to leave us alone. Just a few minutes." She closed her eyes, took in a shaky breath. "Simon and I have to talk."

"I'm not leaving her alone in there." Annie flinched, clutching the top of the car seat, trying not to look at the burn while Eric treated it. She kept glancing down; it hurt like the devil, worse than when the angel-guardian-whatever flamed her. She couldn't figure out why, because it looked the same. Like a bad sunburn. "Eric-we have to-"

"Absolutely not." He gripped her hand, such raw fear clouding his blue eyes she couldn't take in a breath. "I could have lost you in there, and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't get to you, Annie. No," he stopped her from saying anything. "I'll have my say. For once. You are not indestructible, and it's time you realized that."

"I never-"

"Claire spent G.o.d only knows how long bouncing back from anything thrown at her. Stop thinking you're the same." He cradled her face, his voice hoa.r.s.e. "Stop, before I lose you."

"Eric." She turned into his hand, kissed his palm. "I didn't know you-why didn't you say something before now?"

"Because you love her." He let out a sigh. "Because I do. And part of me believes, even now, that she can beat the odds."

"It's hard not to. I won't leave her in there alone with-"

"She's not alone." He laid her back on the seat, effectively blocking her in. "And Simon won't let anything happen to her."

Claire led Simon out of the bedroom, heading for the bathroom down the hall. He stopped her outside the door, tipped up her chin. "You look like you were dragged down that ten miles of bad road. Does it hurt?"

"Not so much, now. I'll be fine, Simon. Let's get you inside before you fall over." She didn't like the grey cast to his face. "Sit. Let me take a look at that shoulder."

"There's nothing you can-" He let out a choked scream as she snapped his shoulder back into place. "d.a.m.n it-you couldn't give me a little warning?"

"You would have tightened up. I wasn't sure I had enough to pop it back in when you were relaxed. I'm sorry-for everything."

He looked at her. "It's time for your story, isn't it."

Swallowing, Claire unb.u.t.toned her shirt. "It's past time." She slipped it off, twisted the fabric to create a sling. "I put it off, because I know once I tell you, it will probably-no, it will end our friendship."

"Do you think so little of me?"

"Far from it. Someone with less honor would want me dead." She forced herself to look into his eyes. "And yes, what I have to tell you is that bad."

Carefully, and with the knowledge that this would most likely be their last minutes as friends, Claire tied the makeshift sling at the back of his neck, eased his arm into it. He caught her wrist before she could retreat.

"Whatever you tell me, Claire, it won't change the way I feel about you."

"I'll hold on to that." She stayed where she was, knowing he would let go of her soon enough. "Okay-quick and dirty, because I don't think Zach is going to give me much more time. I stood with Lucifer in Heaven, one of his renegade angels, and was cast down for it. I spent centuries in h.e.l.l torturing souls of the d.a.m.ned, more in exile for starting to care about those souls, and the last eighty years disguised as a human." His hand dropped away, and her hope went with it. "When you met me, I had just come back from h.e.l.l, where I sent the demon who tried to destroy my friends, and where my master, my brother Azazel told me I have a soul. He created the wall you felt trapping my power, to keep me safe from the demon still inside."

Simon stared at her, his face blank, his eyes cold. Without a word he stood and walked past her, down the stairs, out of sight. Never looking back.

Claire let out a shaky breath, swallowed past the grief lodged in her throat. Tears she rarely shed slipped down her face, only increasing the weight that pressed on her heart. She moved, slow and deliberate, like she had just been given life-changing bad news. Zach stood in the middle of the bedroom, b.l.o.o.d.y and bruised.

"You have been wounded." He moved forward, his touch healing instead of hurting this time. "Down to the soul. What did he do?"

"Nothing I didn't expect." Her voice sounded flat, and she felt-heavy. "If you still want this, Zach, there are things you need to know. Conditions, risks-to both of us-what you will lose."

"I do not care-"

"You should." And the pain finally hit. Sharp, gut wrenching. She wrapped both arms around her waist, cold and vulnerable in her thin lace camisole. "What you want will rip out the core of you, the essence that makes you what you are. It's agony, and you never get over it."

His face was sheet white. "Will I-remember? What I was?"

"None of it." She wanted to hate him-for forcing her to tell Simon, for having to confront the part of herself she never thought to touch again. But she couldn't, simply because she understood his desperate need, and the anguish of being trapped by the consequence of his actions.

"How do I know?" His voice filtered through the wave of grief trying to drown her. "How do I know you can do this?"

"Give me your hand." She held on to him with both hands, knowing he would recoil the moment he felt-all of her, pressed his palm over the scar between her ribs, and let go of her control on the fractured wall in front of her power.

They both gasped, dropping to their knees as his pure, blinding white light tangled with her shattered power. Agony drove through her, more excruciating than the moment she was ripped from Heaven, or banished from h.e.l.l.

Zach wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her in. Inch by inch, his soothing power crept in until it surrounded them. A different kind of pain enveloped Claire-the pain of remembering what she had been, before pride tore it from her.

"You are of the first." His whisper brushed over her, awe and reverence like a balm. "You are of the fallen. I am not-"

"You are more than worthy." She let go of his wrist, cradled the back of his head. It took all the courage she had left to meet his eyes. "You are precious, Zach-they have no idea, because they don't understand what it is to feel, to care, to think for themselves. And you are more valuable, closer to human, because you do understand."

She freed him, got to her feet, every inch aching from holding in the grief. "I will do this for you, because I understand what it is to be trapped, to face eternity alone and desperate. Look at me." When he did, the anguish in his eyes clinched her decision. "I will help you."

Hope flared through the anguish, fisted her heart. "Even after all I forced you to endure?"

"Not the best method, but I understand the reasons behind your actions. I just need you to do one thing for me. Unlock the doors, let Simon go."

He closed his eyes, and the doors unlocked, one by one, slower than last time. His power was fading. "I am ready."

She took his hand, his skin colder under her fingers. "If you want to fall, to experience all the pain and pettiness of being human, then I'm your girl. Now," she tightened her grip on his hand. "I have a binding spell to break."

FIFTEEN.

"Is that Simon?" Annie pushed herself up, gripping the backseat when her hip screamed in protest. "What the h.e.l.l-"

"Annie." Eric kept her from standing, so she shouted at Simon.

"Where's Claire?" Simon kept his head down, walking across the lawn. A sling supported his right arm-a sling she knew d.a.m.n well Claire made for him. "Simon! d.a.m.n it-help me up, Eric."

With a sigh, he pulled her out of the car, hovering in case she toppled. Using the length of the car as a crutch, she managed to reach Simon as he hit the sidewalk. He glanced up at her-and she felt the slap of his rage, his grief. Her sapphire sparked with it.

"Simon-"

"Don't touch me."

"Did you leave Claire alone in there?" Too angry to care about his reaction, she grabbed his good arm. He turned on her so fast she fell back against the car.

"I said don't touch me. And you stay the h.e.l.l out of this," he said to Eric as he sprinted forward. "Don't contact me. Ever."

"Simon!"

"Leave him alone, Annie."

"Like h.e.l.l-Simon! Turn around and face me when I'm shouting at you." He stopped, his shoulders stiff. "Tell me what happened-why did you leave Claire alone with that b.a.s.t.a.r.d-"

He spun, trapping her against the car. "She's a demon, Annie." His voice was so vicious her heart lurched.

"She told you." Anger shoved down her fear. "And what did you say to her?"

"Nothing."

"You just walked out, didn't you? Son of a b.i.t.c.h-why didn't you just stab her in the heart while you were at it? It would have done the same damage-"

"She's not human-"

"That's where you're wrong." He blinked, stepping back. "She's more human than most people you'll meet. She walked into a gate to h.e.l.l to save us, Simon, knowing her death waited on the other side. And if you insist on judging her because her soul is shiny new, then you can-d.a.m.n it, you can go to h.e.l.l."

She took in a breath, so angry she was shaking.

"Annie-"

"You reject her, you reject me. Eric, I need you to help me back to the house-"

"No." Simon moved in front of her. "You're not-like her. You were born with a soul-"

"And I'm a witch. Some people would consider me less than human. And what about you, with your freak gift? How often were you given grief over that?"

He ran one hand over his hair. "I didn't mean-"

"None of us are perfect-some are so far from it they almost don't qualify as human. But that woman in there, she is the most human non-human I have ever known. You want to know how I found out about Claire?" She pushed off the car, ignoring the protest from her hip. "Her demon-possessed cousin gleefully outed her, after luring Claire by kidnapping me, cutting off my earlobe and threatening my life if Claire didn't show up and quietly walk into h.e.l.l. And if you feel like s.h.i.t right about now, my job is done."

"d.a.m.n it, Annie." He grabbed her arm. "She blindsided me in there. I knew she had some dark secret, but this-I can't, I'm sorry, but I can't handle it."

Letting her go, he walked away.

"Simon-ouch, ow ow-" Eric caught her when her left side decided to go on strike. "Don't let him go-"