Kate had colpsed into Apollyon’s arms the moment they teleported into the Nightmare’s home. She awoke snuggled up to her closest friend, lying on the couch on the balcony.

  “Polly…”

  “You’re awake. Are you alright?”

  “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  “Good. Here, I got you the chocote you wanted.” Apollyon gestured to a pte full of small treats on the side table.

  Kate picked one up and took a bite, taking her time to enjoy it before answering. “Thank you.”

  “Always. Is there anything else you need?”

  “Later. I need to talk to Az ter, but now I need you.”

  “Of course. I will be here for as long as you want me.”

  “You’re the best.”

  “I try to be.”

  “What time is it?”

  “One in the morning, library time.”

  “We have time to snuggle then.”

  “Yes. Adelina will be there tomorrow at the library, Ama and Nirrti won’t be alone. We can take our time.”

  Kate made a tired noise. “I still want to join them even if we are te.”

  “Of course. Do you want to eat something beyond the chocotes? You haven’t had dinner.”

  “Yes, let’s make something.”

  “We will, but you need to get up for that.”

  “Meh… okay.” Kate slowly rolled her way out of Apollyon’s embrace, stood up and stretched. “Fuck… I didn’t expect this to get to me so hard.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Peeking into the minds of the archangels. That was disturbing in a way that I never thought possible. I have felt some strange minds, the fae, Jolene, even the cats… I felt many mental illnesses but never something like this. Remember that sociopathic mother from two years ago? Even she had something in that part of her. It was just herself she cared for, but she cared. To have that part of your mind carved out is so… I don’t know. Fucked up? I don’t know if to pity them or hate them even more now.”

  “I don’t have the answer for you. I could only ever tell you that I hate them. Not because of what they are but what they did.”

  “While we were waiting around on the chariot, I talked to Ipos. She said something about having intrusive horrible thoughts and not following them. I told her it’s not about what those thoughts are but about she does that is important. I guess it’s the same with the archangels. Even though they ck empathy and can’t help but project their own distrustfulness onto others, they could have tried to be better and not let their destructive impulses win.”

  Apollyon nodded. “Exactly.”

  Kate sighed. “Let’s have some food now, I don’t want to think about them anymore.”

  “What would you like?”

  “Hm… something quick and easy, a bit of comfort food.”

  “Fried chicken and fries.”

  “Perfect. With like a sweet chili dip and garlic mayo.”

  “Then that is what we shall make.”

  Kate swallowed her piece of fried chicken. “Fast food without being able to get fat is so nice.”

  “Proper food is good too.”

  “Obviously. I generally prefer a proper meal, but sometimes this is the exact thing you need.”

  “True.”

  “I’m gd this is all over now.”

  Apollyon shook her head. “But it isn’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As long as the archangels are still in power and the FBC continues on their newly found path of treachery, the events set in motion by freeing Lilith haven’t concluded. We are not done yet. The two of us can take a break now and stop, but things will move forwards even without us.”

  “Unless Jolene comes along and nudges me again, I feel like I have done my part. Now it’s up to others to keep the good paths going.”

  “I feel the same. Still, I will not refuse to aid whoever needs it. If Clementine wants our help, I will help her.”

  “Well, of course. I won’t just leave our friends and allies alone. I just won’t be pushing for progress as much anymore. It’s time to settle down.”

  “You sound like some hundred-thousand-year-old General.” Apollyon ughed.

  Kate smiled in amusement. “Good thing I don’t pn on dissolving the library any time soon. Or ever, really.”

  “I would certainly have compints if you did. It’s my home now, our home.”

  “It is and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “And to me. I think that makes me worry about the FBC so much. The angels know what we would do to them if they attacked the library, but I don’t think the FBC will believe our threats. We have friends who can be hurt by them and damaging the library would be horrible.”

  “Should we increase security? You are right, this is worrying.”

  Apollyon shook her head. “Not yet. We should see what the talks between RICA and the FBC bring and then decide what to do based on that. We might need more than just better library security.”

  “I hope not, but you are right.”

  “I wish I wasn’t.”

  “Same… Let’s just do something to rex today. The FBC needs time to regroup and won’t just act tomorrow and we can use that time to rex and get ready to face them without all the other baggage of the past months.”

  “Yes, let’s take it easy. I know I said I would be there for how ever long you want me today, but I would prefer to not do anything right now. I hope you understand.”

  Kate chuckled. “Polly, let’s not do stuff then. Let’s take a day to zy around. The most we should do is conjure snacks when we run out.”

  Two demons cuddling all day would always attract cats. Rin and Sera made a point to visit their librarian friends’ homes regurly, often just staying for a small snack or a nap and leaving again after a few hours at most. So now, the two rge cats were piled on top of Kate and Apollyon, enjoying their well-earned pets and nap after a good meal curtesy of the two demons. Feeding any visiting cat was almost obligatory in Hell.

  Kate didn’t dare move and just magically pulled another piece of chocote from the table into her hands. “I was thinking…”

  “You always are.”

  “This is serious stuff again, I shouldn’t. No, we will talk about this ter.”

  “Nonsense. What were you thinking?”

  “The shield inscriptions the chariot uses, I used the raw spell behind them when we faced Gabriel and his minions right before Lilith was freed, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s just a bubble around the source, the shield itself doesn’t take up any space but it needs some form of input to activate the inscription and to keep it active. It has to be powered somehow. If I use the shield spell, I am the power source. I can keep this thing up as long as I want, but it would need some form of magical battery to be powered without a user.”

  “You want to use it in the library.”

  “Yes. We could pce the inscriptions in every room, intercing the shield into the walls so we can create safe spaces in case of an attack where we can evacuate people to.”

  “Or trap an attacker in. The shield works both ways if we let it.”

  “Precisely. I am sure we could even implement it in a way that allows it to automatically activate when certain energy is applied to where it would be. In case, you know, someone tries to shoot down the front door or the windows.”

  “I believe that should be possible.”

  “I am quite certain. This would make the library more secure without the needs for permanently stationed justiciars and it wouldn’t draw attention from the humans.”

  “If this works, it might be a good idea to add it to the defence rings under the city.”

  “Yes. Uhm, honest question… if the shield inscription isn’t already part of them, what do they even do?”

  “The rings can deploy a shield against physical intrusion, just not at that strength. They mainly exist to create selective anti-magic fields and to prevent teleporting in. Do you remember that we needed to modify the rings to prevent teleporting out to trap Arakiel? They were designed to do the exact opposite. Human attacks were not a concern when they were built, so we only included defences against the ways magical assaults are usual carried out. Prevent teleporting in, prevent destructive magic, make physical combat difficult and force the attacker to withdraw. The best defence the library itself always had was our military might. I personally removed an entire roman legion from our premises after they gave us an ultimatum trying to annex the library. Their leader survived and went back home in disgrace. The incident was struck from the records and Emperor Cudius himself guaranteed our independence, in exchange we merely had to lift the ban on Romans entering the library. Every other human disagreement was solved via diplomacy after that.”

  “So, they were never a problem.”

  “Until now. We would get enough warning to defend against a nuclear bomb, but a lone shooter could kill several people before we would be able to respond.”

  “Let’s see about that shield thing tomorrow, then we can prepare more contingency pns.”

  “I will send notes to everyone that we are having a full staff meeting tomorrow, after Rin and Sera decide to check on someone else. Until then, enjoying the cats is a more immediate concern.” Apollyon ran her hand along the entire length of Sera, who didn’t respond and simply kept sleeping.