“Now you’re going to get it,” I said, guessing Al was coming when the ones in the back scattered. “You should have been nice.”With a weird cry, the closest surface demon fell back, but it was too late. A flash of red light exploded overhead, smashing the buildings away as if I were at the center of an atomic explosion. The surface demons scattered like brown leaves, the remnants of their clothes and auras fluttering. It was Al, and he burst into existence in a grand mood, an old-fashioned lantern in his hand and a walking cane at his side.“Rachel Mariana Morgan!” he shouted enthusiastically, raising the lantern high, and I painfully rose from my crouch, breaking my bubble with a small thought. “I’ve come to save you, love!”

“You didn’t even keep a call-back clause?” Al asked, then waved his hand and answered his own question. “Of course not. You’ve had the worst upbringing of any demon I’ve seen.” - Al to Rachel”

“I gotta go,” I wheezed. “This is shitty, you know? How do you live like this?” “Rachel!” he cried, but it was too late,(Rachel and Al)”

“Al was standing a bare three feet away, his mood almost jovial as he took the paper and it vanished in a wash of black sparkles. “Thank you, Rachel,” he said, carefully reaching for my hand as Trent stiffened. “Welcome back, my itchy witch.”

“From the back came an unearthly, satisfied chuckle. All I could see in the rearview mirror was a dark shadow with red goat-slitted eyes. Fear slithered through me.Shit, I have a demon in my backseat. What in hell am I playing with?“Good witch,” Al said, his voice coming from nothing, and I stifled a shudder. “You’re starting to understand.”

“But if you can confront your inner demons—""I did confront my inner demon. I punched him in the face and he exploded."Valkyrie had to laugh. "But now he's back.""Of course he's back. He's resourceful. He is my inner demon, after all.”