I eventually found Knell on the roof of the event hall, looking at the stars. “…Can I have one of those night sky projectors for my corner?” He asked absently.

“I don’t think it would fit,” I said, mentally adding it to the “Presents for Knell” list. “Besides, we have more important things to talk about right now.”

“I guess.”

I sat down next to him. “So…what was that back there?”

“I was mad.”

“Knell, we’ve discussed this before. You’re allowed to be mad, but you’re not allowed to do…that. You terrified everyone in that room.”

“Them?? What about me?? Don’t my feelings count for anything?!”

“Yes, I know, I’m sorry. But Knell, if you want me to consider your feelings, you’re going to have to express them in words.”

Knell sniffed. “’Wastes of flesh’ is three words,” he said.

“Oh yes, I almost forgot you said that. Obviously, you’ve been listening to too much metal lately: When we get home, I’m confiscating your headphones until you learn to watch your language.”

He smiled. “This is why I want to stay with you,” he said.

“…What?”

“You get me. You always know what to say to cheer me up. And you’re not scared of me. When I was going crazy down there, everyone was freaking out. Even that Toll guy was thinking, ‘What did I get myself into…?’ But you know what you thought?

“You thought, ‘Man, I better stop him before he does something stupid.’” He laughed out loud.

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Then he climbed onto my back, wrapping his arms around my neck. That was Knell-speak for, ‘I’m tired; please, let’s go home.’

“Oh, we’re leaving,” I said. “The party’s pretty much over at this point. But before we do, we’re going to go back down there and face the music.”

“Does that mean I have to apologize to people…?”

“Not necessarily. I do realize that you’re more the victim in this situation than anything else. But not everyone will see it that way. And if certain people’s opinions have changed, we need to know sooner rather than later.”

I stood up. “Are you ready to read some minds?”

Knell nodded, still hugging my neck. I descended the stairs.

A few people were still lingering in the hall, including the host. “Ah, good. You managed to tame the beast,” said Toll.

“I’d really appreciate it if you’d stop making those jokes,” I told him. “Knell isn’t my pet or my slave, he’s a person, and you can speak to him as such if you want to.”

Toll narrowed his eyes. “If he wants to be spoken to as a person, it would help if he could act like one,” he hissed. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, you know. This fiasco could kill the whole project!”

“Oh dear. What a shame that would be.”

“You better not have done this to me on purpose…!”

“Look, I don’t want Knell to be seen as a monster any more than you do,” I said. “You’re the one who invited his parents. If anything, you sabotaged yourself.”

Toll’s usual smug expression returned to his face. “…Touché, hunter. But mark my words: this isn’t the last you’ll see of me.”

With that, he left.

I turned to Knell. “What did you get from him?”

“Um…well, he’s mad,” said Knell. “But also…proud? And afraid of something…he’s got a lot of stuff going on, and I’m not used to reading angel minds…all I know is, he does like me. He really likes me.”

Of all the things I’d expected him to be thinking, that was probably last on the list. It was actually a bit disturbing.

But I decided to dwell on it some other time. “Any other noteworthy thoughts in the room?” I asked.

“That lady in the tan suit got a video of me in demon mode, and she’s hoping she’ll get popular if she puts it on the internet. Those angels want to get away from all the earth germs, and Peal is thinking she maybe wants to tell you something. And they…”

He looked at his parents, who were talking with Toll. “…They wanted me back, in a way. They thought maybe they could handle having me for a son, as long as the angels could control me. They even thought they could make some money out of…being related to me. But now they aren’t sure about any of it anymore.”

I sighed. “…Let’s just go.”