There was a pounding on the cracked, splintering door.

Alaina held her breath, wondering who was on the other side. Did someone know she was in here? Were they looking for her specifically, or was it just a coincidence? Though this wasn't exactly the kind of place to get a lot of door-to-door salesmen. Friendly neighborhood chats were even less likely. Maybe if she was really quiet, whoever it was would just go away.

She crept to the edge of the barely-lit room, as far away from the window as she could get. She moved cautiously, not wanting to make any noise that the demon on the other side might hear.

How did she get here? she found herself wondering.

She'd been holed up in this hovel for the last two weeks. Cole had promised her that he'd only be gone for a day - two at most. That had been almost six days ago.

The knock came again, more insistent this time.

She'd been promised an adventure. And yes, she knew it would be dangerous - one didn't simply waltz into the Underworld without some sort of risk involved. Still, things had managed to take an unexpectedly awful turn.

When she'd first met Cole, it was because he'd barged unexpectedly into her life, telling Alaina that her sister was in trouble and needed her help. Of course, Alaina hadn't hesitated - she'd packed and left with him immediately. Looking back, that might not have been the smartest thing she'd ever done. Still, at the time, he'd seemed perfectly ordinary.

Her first hint that something was wrong had been the fact that he had stunning night vision. Well, that and the realization that his eyes seemed to practically glow in the dark. Still, she hadn't let a little thing like that distract her from her mission; besides, she'd been more concerned with the soggy cave and the giant spiders that had been skittering towards them.

After that, she'd been kept too distracted to really think much about it, what with the sea monsters, dragons, and ghosts. But maybe she should have. Because it was right around the time that they'd been running through hordes of undead that she'd finally realized what Cole really was.

A demon.

And by demon she didn't mean just some jerk of a guy. He was an actual, literal demon. But who would have seen that coming?

Still, he'd saved her life more than once on their journey, and she'd actually gotten to trust him. So when he'd told her that the gates to the Underworld had been opened and asked if she wanted to go fix it, she'd actually jumped at the chance. She'd come here with nothing but a spirit of adventure and the desire to help. Well, she guessed she'd also dragged her rather cynical new friend Jophiel down with her, but she didn't think that counted. He'd agreed to come of his own volition, so how was that her fault?

Cole had given them both the distinct impression that this would be a sort of in-and-out mission. And while Alaina did trust him, in the back of her mind, she had to wonder if that was really such a good idea. Because now she was stuck in a ramshackle hut in one of the seediest areas of the Underworld, and her guide had abandoned her.

The only thing that was keeping her together was the fact that Jophiel was there with her. Cole might have been a demon, but Jophiel was an angel. And while she really didn't know much about him, she figured that one fact alone practically made him obligated to look out for her. Plus, Jophiel had been abandoned just the same as she was. That kind of thing tended to bond them together more than they probably would have been otherwise.

The third time the knock came, Alaina caught herself wondering if the door would cave in. Whoever was out there was definitely not happy.

"Who's there?" Jophiel whispered from the kitchen doorway. Alaina must have jumped three feet into the air. She whipped around to face him.

"No idea." she replied, just as quietly.

Jophiel snuck up behind the door, standing next to Alaina. "Should we answer it?" he asked.

"Cole said not to." Alaina said.

"Cole's not here." He seemed to sneer the name. Not that Alaina could blame him.

"I'm aware," she replied, trying not to snap. It wasn't his fault, she reminded herself. She was just stressed.

The knocking continued on. Apparently, whoever was on the other side had decided to just keep going until they opened the door.

"Well, whoever it is clearly isn't going away," Jophiel helpfully pointed out. "So we may as well answer it and try to allay suspicions."

Alaina hesitated. She understood the logic, but it seemed like a pretty big risk. Besides, if someone already knew they were here, their not answering the door for almost ten minutes would probably be more than suspicious enough. Jophiel shrugged. He made a move to open the door himself, but Alaina stopped him.

"Your wings," she murmured.

They'd run out of charcoal powder three days ago. Now, they had nothing to hide the dazzling white of those angel feathers. Alaina might not belong down here, but she definitely blended better than he did.

She grabbed her knitted hat off the coat rack and stuffed it onto her head. She made sure her pointed ears were tucked up underneath - elves weren't particularly common here. Then slowly, she stood on her toes and peeked through the peephole in the center.

A fairly tall man was standing outside. He had a parcel tucked under each of his arms, and in his hands he had what looked like a handful of bells and assorted candles. Large, batlike wings spread out behind him and curving, ebony horns twisted up towards the sky. As if he knew she was watching from the other side of the door, he turned to face her. His jaw was set, and he looked impatient.

"What in the...?" Alaina muttered to herself. She stepped back and made a move to unlock the door.

Jophiel moved to stand behind the door - out of sight, but ready to help if needed.

When it finally swung open, the man on the other side let out a deep sigh.

"It's about time." he grumbled.

Jophiel took a step around the door. He caught sight of the figure on the porch and stared. "It's you." he said. He sounded incredulous, his tone almost accusatory.

"It's me." the demon nodded. He looked at the two of them standing there and grinned, showing off his slightly too-sharp teeth. With orange eyes flashing he added, "It's time."