I turned my phone on silent and refused to grab the mirror. The car was quiet; without a phone going off or a pendant to watch, it was downright peaceful. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but my head snapped up when a portal opened on the seat next to me. I scowled, ready to scream at Lucifer when he tried to come through, but no one came.

The portal had opened by a solitary lawn chair. If I scooted over on my seat, I'd be right next to it. It was bizarre. Slow rolling waves of the ocean ran up the beach in the background, and sweet music filtered through. A pleasant breeze blew, bringing with it the scent of the salt spray and warm sand.

Somewhere out of my line of sight, a child giggled. It took all of three milliseconds for me to recognize Deirdre's laugh. I scrambled toward the portal, only to meet a barrier of some sort. Everything I experienced could get out, but I couldn't get in.

"Deirdre! Deirdre!" I called through the portal, hoping it was just my body that couldn't go through.

"Mom?" she asked.

"Deirdre! Beside the chair!"

"Mom!" she shouted and ran into view. She, too, attempted to come through the portal but couldn't. She sat on the chair, and I scooted as close as I could. The lump in my throat was so large, I thought I'd choke.

"Mom! Where are you?"

"I'm in the back of the car, Sweetie." I couldn't stop the tears. I dug tissue out of my purse. "Where are you?"

"I guess I'm in Heaven. I mean, I died, right?"

"Yeah. You did. Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I miss you, though. It's nice here, but..."

"But?" I encouraged.

"Well," she looked around, then leaned into the barrier and whispered, "It's boring here!"

I laughed. "Well, I'm working on a solution. If I can finish up what I'm doing, I can bring you to me, and it won't be boring anymore. Would you like that?"

"Really? We could be together?"

"Yeah. I'm working on it."

Her face clouded, and I thought my heart would break. "I miss you, mom. The beach house isn't the same without you."

"Yeah? You're at the cottage?"

"Uh-huh. Everything is the same, and there are even some kids to play with, but it's not home."

"Ok, sweetie, just give me a little while longer, and I can make it so we can be together again."

She looked around. "Oh no. Here He comes."

"Who?" I asked, concerned.

"Him. You know," she leaned in and whispered. "God. He comes to visit me. Keeps asking me about you and the Devil. I don't know what He's talking about."

"There's no need for you to know, hon. You tell Him to mind His own business!"

"Mom!" Deirdre looked horrified. "I'm not going to say that to God! Anyway, He's coming. I need to go."

She got ready to get up.

I put my hand on the barrier. "I love you, honey. We'll be together soon."

She touched my hand through the transparent wall. I breathed a sob when the pressure of her touch pressed through the thin skin which separated us. "I love you too, Mom. I have to go!"

She rushed off, out of sight, and the barrier snapped closed under my hand. I fell sideways, the support of the portal's skin gone. I hugged myself as I sobbed silently, laying on the seat until a lack of oxygen forced me to take a breath. I screamed then, not caring if the driver heard me or not. As I sobbed, part of my brain registered we hadn't swerved and crashed.

The fact wasn't important, though, and it slipped away as I dove into my agony. This. This is what Hell is really like, I thought to myself and knew it to be true. I wailed, screaming out my pain, until my throat was raw, and still I cried. It was as if she had died all over again when the portal shut.

I lost track of time as I spent my energy trying to hold my broken pieces together. I couldn't fall apart, not yet. I had so much to do.

I eventually fell asleep, exhausted, and didn't wake until we stopped in my apartment building garage. A gigantic man in a chauffeur's uniform took me from the back seat. He settled me into his arms, and I simply accepted what was happening.

When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, we stepped out.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, finally aware, somewhat, of what was around me.

"I work for him," the man said and inclined his head toward my door. I raised my head to see Lucifer standing beside my door. He snapped it open, then created a portal and left. I turned to look at the man carrying me.

"Are you a demon?"

"No, but I suppose I might as well be."

I didn't understand, but I helped with the door as he took me through it, then used his body to close it. I leaned back onto his chest as he carried me toward the bedroom. "I don't follow what you mean," I told him, "My brain is too foggy to make sense of much right now."

"My name is Azza."

"Azza. Wait. You're a Fallen Angel. Like Lucifer."

"Yes. Something like Lucifer."

"And you help take care of Azazel, right?"

"Lucifer told you about him?"

"Yes."

Azza scoffed. "He cares for you, then."

I scowled, my remembered anger waking me. "Sure has a damned odd way of showing it."

The giant angel sighed. He squatted and carefully set my feet on the floor at the foot of my bed. I sat, my legs shaky.

"I'm supposed to ask if you need or want anything. He suggested a bath. Only, I can't just snap it up like he can. One of the perks of the job, I guess."

"It would be nice if you started the tub, thank you." I pointed to the bathroom. "It's through there."

"Sure thing."

After a few moments, the water started, and the drain closed when it was hot.

"You'll have to check the temperature before you get in. I set it to what I thought was comfortable."

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"Anything else."

"Well, you can tell me what happened today. Why did I see Deirdre?"

"She your little girl?" he asked

I swallowed. "Yeah."

"Lucifer said she was stuck in Heaven," he said, taking a seat in the chair near the bed.

"I guess you could say that." A tear slipped down my cheek, and I wiped it away.

"Bloody Hell," Azza mumbled. "What's Lucifer up to?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. I was doing my thing when he showed up and ordered me to drive you. Then, he opened a portal in the back seat, and you talked to someone through it. Damned near scared the piss out of me when you started screaming."

I thought I was all cried out but, apparently, it wasn't true because the tears started again in earnest. Azza reached into a pocket and brought out an old-fashioned handkerchief, and handed it to me. I took it and wiped my face wondering if Lucifer required all Fallen Angels to carry them.

"I got to talk to my dead daughter. I'm working on getting her back."

"Ah. So, you made a deal with Lucifer to get your daughter back. Understandable," he said, nodding.

"Sort of," I hiccupped.

He leaned forward and put his elbows on his thighs, and clasped his hands together. "What do you mean?"

"I made a deal with him years ago so I could get pregnant with Deirdre," I told him, then continued the story. "She got cancer. Long story short, she died."

"I'm so sorry. Lucifer's usually not like that."

"Well, he says he didn't do it."

"God took your daughter? It would explain why she's in Heaven."

"Yeah. She had just died when Lucifer showed up and offered a second deal."

"Excuse me?" Azza asked, eyebrows high. "Did you say Lucifer offered you a second deal?"

"Yes. He said if I collected a specific set of souls for him, he'd return my soul and get Deirdre back."

"Jesus H. Christ," Azza said, running a hand through his hair before getting up to pace. He went into the bathroom and turned off the tub.

"Let me guess," he said as he walked back into the room, "he's having you collect the Virtues."

I looked at him, watching him retake his seat. "Yes." I narrowed my eyes. "Why? What do you know?"

"Not much, it's just... well, the Virtues are a sticking point between him and God. Lucifer has wanted to collect them for ages, and God hasn't let him. Until now."

"Yeah, which is where I come in. I do it for him. He's not allowed to help directly, but he, or his sister, have helped in small ways."

Azza pursed his lips. "In what ways?" he got up to pace again and rested a hand on the back of his neck.

"Well, Lucifer taught me fire-snap travel and gave me a ring containing extra life, and Lilith gave me a scrying mirror and pendant. Beyond those items, I've done everything else myself."

"Well, that's damned good," he ran his hand through his hair again, his back to me, and sighed. "You understand you're playing with fire, right?" he asked, hands on hips and head hung.

"I realize I'm dating the Devil, yes."

Azza whirled around. "Wait, what? You're dating? Like we-make-a-couple dating?"

"Umm... yeah?" I squeaked, feeling tiny in the shadow of the enormous angel above me. I suddenly felt silly for admitting we were seeing each other. It was ridiculous even to think Lucifer could love me. I cleared my throat. "Look, I'm exhausted. Can you go now?"

He stood up straighter, pulling on his uniform. "Yes. Of course. The tub didn't finish filling, though. I was afraid we'd get to talking, and it would overflow."

"Thank you. I can handle it."

He turned to leave but, before he did, he added. "Hey, be careful, okay? Some things are going on you don't know about."

"What things?"

"I've said too much as it is," he said, walking out. "Just watch yourself!"

I listened to him go as I sat on the bed, running everything through my mind. My head hurt. My heart hurt. Everything hurt. I decided I needed some water to take something for it, so I headed to the kitchen. The red light was in the living room again, and I stopped before entering the room. On a whim, I peeked to see if I could see him on the balcony. I didn't expect to witness what I did.

Azza was standing toe-to-toe with him, red-faced and shouting, though I heard nothing. Lucifer just stood amidst all the angel's power and let him yell. Azza waved his arms about and sometimes pointed toward the bedroom while Lucifer watched him and listened. Eventually, the enormous angel ceased his rant.

Lucifer spoke calmly. Azza crossed his arms across his expansive chest, listening as Lucifer spoke. On occasion, he shook or nodded his head. Now and then, he said a few words.

Finally, Azza's arms uncrossed, and he ran a hand through his hair stopping with it resting on the back of his neck. He nodded.

Lucifer snapped a portal and stepped through, gone before he knew I was watching.