Sometime later, a tap on Jubilee’s shoulder woke her as she was nodding off.

“It’s barely been two hours.” The detective’s voice was stern. “I’m not paying you to sleep.”

She buried her face into her arms against the cool countertop of the computer station they sat at. She was too tired to process anything. Around them, the soft click-click-clicks of a dozen other patrons’ keyboards sounded. “It’s past my bedtime,” she mumbled into her sleeve. “Just wake me when there’s something worth seeing.”

“There is.”

Blearily, she raised her head. “Zhengyi came out already?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still things to observe. You never know what you might see. You’re still in field training, after all.”

Jubilee gave the detective a halfhearted glare and sat up, training her eyes across the street. People were still filtering in and out of the nightclub, some loitering along the sidewalk to smoke and chat. A rainbow of different auras filled the air like a faint mist, and glimmers of various entities flitted between different people.

Jubilee yawned.

“Do you want a coffee?” the detective asked.

She perked up at that.

“You stay here and keep observing,” he instructed. “I will go and acquire sustenance for you. What is it you are in the mood for?”

She eyed him warily. His large gray eyes stared back at her, and the thin black line over his head wavered a little but did not break. He was sincere, even if his main motive was to placate her and coax out her ability.

Well. She’d take that.

“A caramel macchiato and steamed pork buns,” she answered honestly. Neither of those things were available at the internet bar, unfortunately.

He looked at her a long moment, then nodded and stood. “I will return shortly. Keep watching the club entrance for Zhengyi’s exit.” With that, he walked away.

Jubilee let out a deep breath and faced forward again to observe the club as she slumped in her seat. She was exhausted, cranky, and confused. Vaguely, she remembered seeing something strange in the spirit earlier. Auras getting darker or whatnot. Did it mean anything? And if so, what?

Beside her, Hellenos settled into Law’s vacated seat. Tired? he inquired after a few minutes.

“You know I am,” she muttered. “So why bother asking?”

The angel shrugged. Just making conversation. I hear that sometimes helps when humans are in a mood.

She sighed, resting her chin on her arms. “I thought it’d be easier to figure out whether that girl’s willingly involved with the demon or not if I could just watch her more outside of class. But I haven’t been able to make any sense of what I’m seeing.” She lay her head down to look sideways at Hellenos. “Do you think my sight’s just fizzling out and being weird?”

I think you second-guess yourself too much. Eyes front.

Jubilee groaned and lifted her head. She really needed that coffee. Who knew how much longer she’d have to wait until—

Zhengyi walked out of the club.

Jubilee sat bolt upright. The demon was no longer with the girl. And the haze around her...was back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as the disturbing black mass could be. No longer was it darkly clotted in some places, but instead, it was uniform all throughout. In fact, it seemed a little less dark than before.

Jubilee’s brows knit together. So...she had imagined what she saw earlier? Or did this mean something else?

The girl walked down the sidewalk, her shoulders drooping with weariness but her steps lighter somehow. She glanced around herself, and Jubilee could see that her countenance looked somewhat uplifted, as though a great burden had been taken off her shoulders. Perhaps she was simply looking forward to her bed.

You and me both, Jubilee thought, before another possibility struck her. Could it be because the demon was no longer with the girl? And she knows it?

Jubilee stood abruptly, ready to go after the girl, then stopped. Law was expecting her to be here when he got back. And if Zhengyi caught Jubilee tailing her, he would undoubtedly be none too pleased. Jubilee dithered for a moment, then sat back down. She didn’t want to miss those pork buns, after all.

In the meantime, she’d try puzzling out the meaning of what she’d just seen.

“Hey, Hellenos,” she murmured. “Help me out here. Surely you have some idea of why that demon keeps disappearing and coming back.”

It is the privilege of God to conceal a matter, and the honor of kings to seek it out, the angel intoned cryptically.

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“That's from the Bible,” she snapped under her breath. “I don't need you to be a walking talking Bible. I already have one in print.”

Then maybe you should open it once in a while.

The reproach sparked a tiny zing of conviction in Jubilee, which she didn’t entirely like. “Why must you be so unhelpful?” she snapped. “Can’t you at least give me a hint?”

Hellenos waved a hand. I just did. And you already have a more than capable human whom you can ask for help.

“Who?” she asked before realizing the answer. “Law? You know why I can’t tell him yet. What if he somehow takes it as evidence against her, and she gets the death sentence, but it’s all just a misunderstanding, and she’s innocent? Or she’s being forced to do something against her will? I mean, even with that demon disappearing again just now, she looked—” Jubilee pondered a moment for the right word. “Relieved.”

“Did she, now,” Detective Law’s voice said evenly from behind her.

Jubilee spun around in her seat. The detective stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets.

“How long have you been standing there?” she demanded.

“A while,” he answered, completely unabashed. “Long enough to know that not only have you seen the demon apparently vanish, but that this isn’t the first time you’ve seen it happen.”

She blanched.

“And,” he continued, striding forward to retake his seat, which Hellenos had risen out of with an amused look, “To know that you either have schizophrenia, or a habit of speaking to invisible beings whose voices only you can hear in your head.”

Jubilee’s cheeks heated. She hated being caught talking to thin air. It’d happened frequently while she was still in the US, especially during her recovery at the hospital. The doctors had recommended her a shrink upon her release. “So you were eavesdropping,” she ground out.

He shrugged. “I prefer to call it observing.”

“You said you were getting me coffee and pork buns,” she accused, both to change the subject and because she really had been looking forward to those things.

“I was, technically,” he said. “I called for delivery. It should be here any minute.”

She stared at him, outraged. So that was what the wavering line over his head had meant earlier. He’d planned to observe her unawares. Not only that, but he’d figured out how to bypass her lie radar.

“So, Miss Wong.” The detective settled back in his chair, ignoring her incensed look. “Care to share what you’ve really seen so far?”

Jubilee hesitated, biting her lip. She could no longer hide the fact that she’d seen something significant. But she didn’t take too kindly to the fact that Law had deliberately spied on her to wheedle out this information. She stayed silent.

The detective exhaled deeply. “Let’s try another question, then. Who is it you were talking to? I take it that it was a spiritual entity of some sort.”

She looked at him in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to her that he wouldn’t automatically think she was crazy. Over the detective’s head, Hellenos beamed at the acknowledgment.

“Yes,” she said, eyeing Hellenos uncertainly. “My guardian angel.”

Detective Law didn’t so much as blink at that. “And what did he say to you?”

It felt bizarre to discuss this out loud so blatantly. But then, if Law could accept talk about demons, why not angels too? It’d be nice not to have to hide it for once. And it’d give her time to stall before deciding what to tell him about Zhengyi. “Not much,” she admitted at last. “Mostly he was just being annoying.”

Thanks, Hellenos said.

The detective’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly. “I didn’t expect such a descriptor to be applied to an angel.”

“You have no idea,” Jubilee said.

I’m right here, you know.

“Humor me,” the detective said, his expression returning to its usual neutral state. “What could a divine being say that would be so riling?”

This was definitely the weirdest conversation she’d ever had, but the fact that he didn’t seem to be judging her was a nice change of pace. “I asked him for a clue on the case,” she said, waving a hand in Hellenos’ direction, “And he just told me to read my Bible.”

“Interesting,” the detective mused, looking thoughtful.

At that moment, Wayne Quell came through the door, carrying a tray of drinks and two plastic bags. He came their way with a jolly wave.

“You ordered delivery?” He deposited the tray in front of them, then opened the bags and pulled out a carton of java chip ice cream and a box of freshly steamed pork buns, which he set in front of the detective and Jubilee, respectively.

“Mr. Quell!” Jubilee gaped at him, then turned to the detective. “You made him go get the food? At this hour? That’s—”

“Please, call me Wayne, my dear,” the old man interrupted. “And it was no bother at all. I’ve gotten used to late hours, and I am too old for bedtimes.” He winked.

“Much appreciated, Wayne,” Law said, taking one drink—Earl Grey, no doubt—and handing the other to Jubilee, who looked helplessly between both men before accepting it. “One more thing, before you are dismissed for the night.”

“Yes, Law?” Wayne’s tone was affectionate despite addressing the detective by his surname.

“Bring your Bible to me, if you’d please.”

Jubilee, who’d bitten into a pork bun, almost choked.

Wayne looked similarly stunned. “Say again?”

“I asked you to bring me your Bible, Wayne,” Law said, looking a little miffed at having to repeat himself. “I presume it’s in the car since you always have it with you.” He turned to Jubilee. “Why are you surprised? You’re the one it was suggested to. Given the circumstances, it is a logical resource for us to use.” Seeing that Wayne still hadn’t moved, he addressed the old man again. “Well? Do you have it with you?”

Wayne nodded slowly.

“Then your years of pestering me to read it have finally paid off. Please bring it to me.”

The older man, quickly regaining his composure, gave a little bow and left. Moments later he returned, a thick and weathered volume between his fingers. He handed it to Law, who immediately flipped it open and began poring through its pages.

“That will be all, ” the detective said, dismissing his assistant with a wave of his hand. Then he paused and looked up. “Thank you, as always, for looking out for me,” he added, indicating the ice cream and tea. The older gentleman bowed again and, with an approving smile at Jubilee, left.

Jubilee, still processing this turn of events, watched as Law proceeded to flip rapidly from one page to the next. Briefly, she wondered if he might be mocking her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

“I should think that would be obvious,” he said, not bothering to look up. “I am conducting research.”

At that, Hellenos let out great peals of laughter. The angelic sound was audible only to Jubilee’s ears, but all around the room patrons’ shoulders lost some of their tension, and a few of them even smiled absently. Jubilee found her own mood lightening somewhat, despite her vexation. “Okay, so am I done for the night?” she asked.

“Certainly not,” the detective said. “You’re going to help me.”

She looked incredulous. “You don’t seriously expect us to pull an all-nighter for Bible study.”

“Why not? Shame to let all this caffeine go to waste, and you did clock in later than usual today.” He flipped a page serenely. “Unless you’d rather just finish our conversation about that disappearing demon, instead.”

Jubilee tensed. She wasn’t ready for that conversation—not after the stunt he’d just pulled that made her feel even less like she could trust him.

Reluctantly, she sat. “Bible study it is.”