“What kind of sick bastard burns down a Christmas tree?”Hugh and I exchanged glances. “That’s an excellent question,” I said dryly.Peter looked startled. “Was it you?” he asked Hugh.“No,” said the imp. “It was Carter.”“Your Christmas tree was burned down by an angel?” asked Cody.“Yup. The irony isn’t lost on me”

“It was a nephilim.”“A nephi-what?” asked Hugh, startled.“Isn’t that a character on Sesame Street?” Peter spoke up for the first time.”

“You should make her call you ‘Miss Georgina,’” added Hugh with a mocking southern drawl. “Or at least ‘ma’am.’”Niphon’s presence and Jerome’s lecture had put me in a grouchy mood. “I’m not doing any mentoring. She’s so gungho to take on the world’s male population, she doesn’t even need me.”The three men exchanged more smirks. Cody made some hissing and meowing sounds, scratching at the air."This isn’t funny,” I said."Sure it is,” said Cody.”

“I went first. The card I drew was "Watergate." "Oh, come on," I said. "This is ridiculous.""Don't whine," said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. "We all take a random chance here."They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a "Water!" from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job."Wall," said Hugh."Door," said Cody.I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection."Aqueduct," said Cody."A bridge over troubled water," guessed Hugh."Oh my God," I groaned.Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed "Hoover Dam" and "Hans Brinker." With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it."Watergate," said Carter right away.Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. "Why didn't you just draw a gate?”

“Hey, big spender,” I said.He looked appreciative but more amused than anything else. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one dollar bill.“Hugh,” I said. “Don’t insult me.”With a sigh, he produced a five and tucked it underneath my bra strap.“Hey, Seth,” Cody suddenly said.I looked up and saw Seth standing in the doorway. A look of comic bemusement was on his face.“Hey,” he said, studying me. “So…you’re paying for dinner?”

“Bless you, daugher of man," Carter said, his eyes luminous and almost silver now. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and caught my breath. His lips were both burning hot and icy cold.”

“Indeed. That pony collection isn’t nearly complete,” Carter mused. When I dared a look back at him, I saw that the angel was smiling at me. “You see? You aren’t lost. No matter what happens to you, you have a plan. There’s still hope.”