Madeline didn’t sleep well at all that night. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or the bloated feeling that comes with eating too much food. Or maybe it was because for the first time in her life, she’d been accused of being a demon in hiding.

Eventually the chirping of birds shamed her out of her bed and into starting her day. Despite the fact she hadn’t had any sleep, she still felt mostly fine. The uneasy feeling in her stomach would stay as she cleaned up and ate breakfast, however.

Being a demon wasn’t the end of the world, especially in this day and age. In fact, the lives of demons had been vastly improved over the last hundred odd years. Madeline remembered how venomously her grandmother had spoken about “them”, not even differentiating between proper monsters and the Demonfolk.

It still wasn’t great, but it was a lot better than getting burned at the stake with magefire on a Sunday afternoon for entertainment.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how disastrous it could be for her if she actually became a demon. She’d have to move to the Demon Quarter of the city, and would need a permit to get around, she’d be fired, she’d… never get to meet her family again.

Her father died in the territorial wars, her brother was a professional soldier, her mother was… well, her mother was a product of her grandmother.

No, this would not be allowed to happen. Could not. She had to be sure of her innocence, that she was still human. Still untainted. Pure.

And yet she remembered how quickly she’d healed from wounds she received from the raid. Her squad was largely still in hospital or on leave, and technically so was she even though the wounds had long since healed. There was still a worm of doubt in her mind.

Madeline took a knife from the drawer, took a deep breath, and pricked her finger. Bright red blood welled up, and Madeline stared at it for a few moments before releasing her breath and going over to the sink. She washed out the cut, checking for unnaturally quick healing, or anything patently demonic.

There was nothing, as expected. So it was a little surprising when her eyesight clouded from the tears that sprung up unbidden, momentarily interfering with her concentration in casting the magic she was using to close the wound.

Then she immediately left to go for a walk to clear her mind. She was mentally exhausted and it wasn’t even ten in the morning. Madeline was halfway out the door before she remembered that the knife she’d used hadn’t been cleaned, and was still laying in the sink with her blood on it.

She decided to forget about it for now.

Madeline followed her feet along the waterfront, her mind in the clouds as she walked by the magic park. Remembering the water she’d dropped on the college student, she felt a twinge of regret. If she was a demon, she’d be banned from this part of town all together, as demons had their own place to practice magic. This one was for humans only. She might not be as powerful as even the toddlers in this field, but at least she was still human.

The uneasiness in her stomach subsided as her momentary paranoia gave way to contentment with her life. She was safe here, and that could not be taken from her.

Though she did notice something that she’d never notice before in the practice field. There were the children being guided through magic classes, the college students performing stupidly difficult spells repeatedly to pass their finals, and everyone in between. The people she noticed for the first time were two figures, one of whom she recognized.

A man in all white clothing that reminded her of the priesthood and an officer of the local Bureau, standing watch over the practice field. Madeline was going to keep going but the officer noticed her and waved, motioning her over. Madeline obliged, as she had nothing better to do.

“Hello, whose this?” Madeline said, waving as she got close. She decided not to make it obvious she didn’t remember the officer’s name.

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“Agent Gray, good to see you. This is Abraham, he’s joining the local Knight chapter soon and they asked me to show him around town.” The officer said, clearly proud that she’d been chosen for the task. After all, it wasn’t often the local chapter took new trainees. Single trainees were taken in when one they already had wasn’t performing too well. Or had died. Madeline usually did the on-boarding for irregulars because no one else liked doing it.

At the mention of who Madeline was, Abraham stiffened a little, looking nervously between the off-duty Madeline and the on-duty officer. Madeline raised an eyebrow at this, and the other officer noticed, motioning for Abraham to be courteous.

“I’m looking forward to working with you in the future, Agent Gray.” Abraham said with a smoothness that made Madeline wonder if they had recruited directly from the priesthood. Given his choice of all white clothing, she probably wasn’t far off the mark.

“Pleasure is all mine, Abraham. Do well and you’ll outrank me in a few years.” Madeline said with a smile, extending a hand as a courtesy. Abraham took it a little too quickly, his awkwardness apparent to all. He seemed to jolt a little at the contact, but that could be down to how little actual interaction the priesthood had.

“Thank you. Officer Ginnesburg was giving me an excellent tour of the local chapter’s territory.” Abraham said, and suddenly Madeline remembered the other officer’s name. Amy Ginnesburg.

“Oh? Ginnesburg giving a tour? Didn’t you get lost in the office on your second day? How the times have changed.” Madeline pondered, putting a finger on her chin to fake contemplation while Amy’s face reddened slightly. Amy was a little speechless but couldn’t refute it. Seeing the disparity in seniority, Abraham stepped in.

“Is it true that you got in a fight with the Deputy Lord Rosenthal?” Abraham said, making Amy stiffen as Abraham had done earlier. Madeline tilted her head at Abraham.

“Where in the world did you hear that?” Madeline replied, amused. One slap hardly counted as a fight.

“Quartermaster Don. He said tha-” Abraham was cut off by Ginnesburg running damage control on the trainee, who cut him off.

“Abraham! Look at the time, we gotta go!” She shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging the apprentice knight away from Madeline like she was a bomb waiting to go off. Given her reputation in the Bureau and Knight Chapter, it wasn’t surprising but it was unusual for people to be brave enough to talk about it in front of her. She’d have to keep an eye on this apprentice Abraham.

She’d also have to go visit Quartermaster Don. That crotchety old bastard probably missed her anyway. And she needed to keep her reputation from getting worse than it already was.

[+++]

“Heavens above, she’s terrifying.” Abraham muttered as the two rounded the corner and left the practice park behind them.

“I know, so why were you digging your own grave?” Hissed Officer Ginnesburg, who slowed down once they were finally on the side street.

“You looked embarrassed. Is helping someone in need a crime?” Abraham said. Ginnesburg sighed, and let go of Abraham’s arm.

“No. But its a little humiliating to be saved by someone not in the forces yet.”

“Kindness can be given to all except demons and monsters, and you are neither as far as I can see.” Abraham smiled, to which Ginnesburg nodded thanks. “Nevertheless, Agent Gray is truly a force to be reckoned with.” He said.

“What makes you say that?” Ginnesburg said, already aware of the some of the rumors floating around her senior.

“Well, I was accepted late, and all through training the instructors were worried if I’d be able to impress Agent Gray or not, if that tells you anything.” Abraham stated, and Ginnesburg just looked confused.

“Why would the Chapter care about what Agent Gray thinks about their recruits?” Ginnesburg asked, genuinely curious.

“Ginnesburg doesn’t have a lot of magic. Actually, she’s got so little she actually soaks in ambient magic instead of radiating it. Its a really rare condition, so she has to be extremely efficient with her magic, and can’t cast anything beyond her body.” Abraham explained.

“Wait, so she’s a self-taught knight?” Ginnesburg asked incredulously.

“Basically. The only reason the Chapter hasn’t poached her outright is that the Bureau doesn’t restrict access to her. If they did, they’d probably do it next week.” Abraham finished.

“Wow.” Muttered Ginnesburg.

“Yeah.” Abraham agreed.

“So why didn’t she just join the Chapter in the first place?” Ginnesburg wondered.

“From what I heard, she applied but didn’t make the cut. Not enough mana reserves.” Abraham stated quietly.

“Don’t the Bureau have those standards too?”

“Yeah. But by the time she applied to join the Bureau her control was better and her brother wrote a letter of recommendation for her.” Abraham said as they walked into the Bureau’s Toronto headquarters.

“How do you know that?” Ginnesburg asked suspiciously, eyeing Abraham.

“Her brother told me.” Said Abraham as he strode off, leaving Ginnesburg wondering who the hell this new apprentice actually was.