Plucky Penny and the Demon of Doom

An Angels & Demons novelette

Part of the Virtual Literotica Convention 2025 event

— — —

PLUCKY PENNY & THE DEMON OF DOOM

by Emily Miller & Penny Thompson

— — —

Where had my demon girlfriend got to? Fiancée, I corrected myself, glancing at the diamond on my ring finger. It was so pretty; even - I thought - under the rather too yellowly lights of the Grand City Hotel ballroom. Shiny things can distract me; particularly sentimental shiny things. I pulled myself together and went back to scanning the crowd.

There were all sorts. Precisely what you'd expect a bunch of horny writers to create. Attire ranged from the suggestive to the close to arrestable, and that was just the men. Unlike most of the happily oblivious throng, I knew who I was, and what I was doing here; aside from looking for my errant partner, that is.

Emma and I were on yet another mission. It was part of our positions in the Earthly Chapter of The Avenging Angels [also incorporating Demons], or - more prosaically - Emma's Escorts. I was out on official ECOTAA[AID] business when Emma had been briefed about our task. She'd not exactly been forthcoming about things. She liked to be enigmatic, when given the opportunity. She-Demons, right? Gotta love 'em.

Before we left? My girlfriend said that there was no time to explain. En route? Well at least I didn't have to carry Emma anymore - now that Lucy had given her back her wings - but the wind noise didn't make for easy conversation. All I'd been able to make out was that we were flying to a convention featuring characters from erotic literature; weird, right? And that someone there needed our help.

Once we had landed and both absorbed our wings, Emma finally revealed that she had to find someone important. And - rather mysteriously - added that, while most delegates would be having a blast, my job was to keep an eye out for anyone who seemed to be out of sorts.

"This is really important, Lily. If you come across an attendee who is getting all depressed, or existential, or nihilistic, find a way to make them feel better about life, OK?"

"Sure," I replied, "but what... and why...?"

"No time to explain," said Emma annoyingly. "You'll think of something. Gotta go, but remember," she added, portentously, "their lives - all of our lives - could depend on this one thing."

"No, no, no!" It took a lot to get me riled, but Emma could do it if anyone could. "I need more info than that, what if something happens to you? Spill, OK?"

So Emma spilled. She spilled quickly, and what she told me left me in no doubt about the true severity of the situation.

"Got it now?" she asked.

I nodded, still absorbing the news that my girlfriend had imparted. "But... don't we need back-up? Elena, or Agrat, or... maybe even Lucy herself?"

"No time, they are all busy, or too far away. Now I really gotta go. We good?"

"Yeah, we're good," I answered reluctantly.

I let my partner kiss my cheek, and with that the vexatious devil was gone. She vanished into the sea of milling unrealistic sexual fantasies - sorry, what I meant to say was, of course, the sea of finely-drawn and emotionally rounded characters. Angels aren't bitchy, unlike... well I don't like to say.

Angels? Yeah, that's me. Lily White, daughter of two archangels; one deceased, one missing, presumed crazed. Banished to Earth for a crime I let Emma commit. Well not really. I now understood that both Em and I had been hidden by our respective, remaining relatives. Hidden from the vengeful machinations of the Dark Lord, Asmodeus.

Asmodeus, the true reason I was parentless. Mom and Dad had both strayed into his webs, and never found a way out. He had been Head of Hell's Administrative Council, and was now awaiting trial for treason in one of Lucy Morningstar's least pleasant pits. I'd done my bit to take the scum down, but his incarceration - gratifying as it was - couldn't bring back my loved ones.

You still awake? Good. A warning, there might be some more exposition coming up. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I wasn't meant to be here. Not really. I looked at my convention ID:

Lily White - Creator: EmilyMiller

Well no, that was a lie; or at least a twisted version of the truth. Of course Emily had interviewed both me and Emma at length; she researched her biographical works thoroughly. Maybe she had embellished things a little, she's an author after all. But magical powers holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light. Crazy thing is... it's true. Angels, Demons... All of it. It's all true. Emily just documented it.

Tonight, Emma and I were once more undercover, only undercover as... ourselves. Yeah, it had confused me too. Bear with me, it may become clearer later. Let's hope so!

As I surveyed the myriad faces, one stood out. First, as it was elevated somewhat from the group she was talking to. Second, as the young woman kept staring at me before bashfully averting her eyes.

Given that Emma was nowhere to be seen, and that I was a little hazy about some of the details of our mission, I decided to be sociable.

As I walked toward her, I saw that she was wearing a pretty yellow, floral dress, with spaghetti straps showing off toned shoulders. And her legs? They seemed to go on forever. Or at least until they terminated in a cute pair of espadrille flats.

At my approach, she had lowered her face, and I could see her cheeks flush red. In something close to astonishment, I noticed that she had more freckles than me. They formed single spies on her chest and arms, and battalions on her face. There are clearly more things in Heaven and Earth...

"Hi," I said brightly, extending my hand and looking up to meet her eyes, more than a foot above me. "I'm Lily. Who are you?"

— — —

There was a look of surprise on the young woman's face, and she was indeed blushing furiously. But she nevertheless took my hand, and I was treated to a broad and genuine smile. I'd considered giving her a dose of my calming angel influence, but I figured being a bit shy was cute, and her handshake was firm.

"Hi, my name is Penny." She glanced down at her ID, I could see it read:

Penny Thompson - Creator: PennyThompson

"You're an author?" I asked.

"Yeah, just started out. But..." Here she looked confused. "But that's the other Penny... writer Penny. I'm... I'm one of her characters. At least I think."

She looked at me rather hopelessly, conveying a feeling close to distress. Maybe I'd need my angelic balm after all.

"Hey, it's weird right?" I decided some world class subterfuge was in order. I held up my own card. "I'm Emily's character. I get it."

Penny screwed up her stippled face, her nose wrinkling in a desperately appealing manner. "It just... it feels... off."

"Off?" I inquired.

"Yeah, off. Like something isn't quite right. I mean a convention for authors, that makes sense. But for characters? What's up with that? They... me included... aren't... well, real."

I thought to myself that maybe it wasn't just me and Emma who understood the true nature of this gathering. Then everyone else seemed perfectly relaxed and at ease. But I could sense that Penny was getting a little agitated.

"Maybe we could sit down... sit down and discuss it. OK?" I suggested.

Penny nodded, and together we made for one of the tables that had been set up around the edge of the ballroom. Sitting together, with a little separation from the hubbub, Penny seemed happier. It also made the height difference between us less obvious.

Penny spoke quietly. "I was wondering, maybe if my feelings had something to do with author Penny and me. Like all the other... characters... seem happy, having a good time, not worrying too much about anything. So why am I a mess? I thought about it, and I wondered whether it was because I - Penny, that is - was an author too. Maybe that's some crazy, messed up way to be; neither one thing nor another."

"Maybe," I replied, with respect in my voice, while thinking that Penny was a pretty insightful and smart woman.

"That's why... I'm sure you noticed, and that's what you came over... why I was looking at you."

"OK..." I replied noncommittally.

"I wanted to talk to another author-character. Freya was the obvious choice, but she's so busy. I guess 'cause it's her gig. Then I saw Emily Miller, and I thought, she might feel the same, she might understand."

I nodded encouragingly and went as far as to take Penny's hand in mine.

"As she's an author and a character, I thought... just like me... But then she was gone."

Suddenly it dawned on me. "And you thought I was her, right?"

"Well you do look pretty much identical. What's up with that as well?"

I had an option. Emma had taught me some of her demon mind tricks, I could wipe the last fifteen minutes from Penny's memory, and get back to searching for my fiancée.

But something about how Penny looked at me with her big emerald eyes, and the clear, honest consternation behind them, made me reconsider. It was against Emma's Escorts protocols, then I was a principal of the organization, and could probably write my own protocols. I went with my gut and took a chance.

I extended my hand to her. "Penny, come with me, if you want to live."

She looked at me in something close to horror. "What? Am I in danger?" she asked, glancing around her.

"No, well not immediately. I just... just always wanted to say that," I replied slightly sheepishly. "How about if I change that to, 'Cum with me, if you want to live?'" I looked at the young woman expectantly.

"Huh?" replied Penny.

"It's a homophone," I grinned. "You know? Come / cum."

The penny dropped with Penny. "Oh... you mean...?"

I held out my hand again, Penny took it, and we made for the suite that Emma had booked.

— — —

It felt nice holding hands in the elevator. Penny didn't say much, but she squeezed my fingers hard once, accompanied by a sideways look and half a smile. It was enough to prevent me from doing anything magical to improve her mood.

We were on the seventh floor, room 711. As the pair of us walked past the adjoining suite, we heard some unmistakable sounds. Flesh colliding with flesh repeatedly, and the mewling and cries of an impassioned woman.

This was all very quotidian for me, but Penny said quietly, "Sounds like they are having fun."

I stopped outside the next door suite. "Want to join them? I could ask nicely..."

Penny shook her head hurriedly.

"Too shy?" I inquired.

"Maybe," Penny replied, clearly with something else on her mind. "And..."

"And...?" I said as encouragingly as I could manage.

Blushing didn't really cover it anymore, my tall friend was verging on traffic light red.

"And..." she stuttered, "I thought maybe me... and... well... you...?"

She turned the last word into something resembling a plea. I'd already found Penny very sweet, but this was too much, even for an angel. Stretching up to my full 5'1", I just about managed to reach her lips, as Penny dipped her head to meet mine.

I was kinda used to electricity coursing through my body - despite my Uncle having tried hard to recalibrate the congenital spermatozoatropism that had been problematic for me at times - but the caress of Penny's half open mouth had a not dissimilar effect. 'Hey! You're meant to be the one making her feel better,' I told myself. Though I didn't really see any harm in turning our interaction into a win-win.

Out loud I said, "Whatever you desire."

Penny kissed me back, and breathed, "Thank you, you're a real angel."

"Wait! How did you...? Oh right, never mind."

I unlocked the door and had Penny to myself.

— — —

As Penny looked around the living room and took in the view, I gave myself a stern talking to. 'You know the stakes, girl. Just do what you need to do. Don't start getting carried away, Emma might need you.'

Then Penny turned to me with the most spontaneous, uncomplicated smile, her green eyes sparkling in anticipation, and it was too much to resist. Much, much too much.

I basically flung myself at her. While tall, Penny was skinny, and even my modest momentum was enough to send us both into one of the bedrooms and topple her onto the bed, with me ending up on top of her. Not a bad outcome, I told myself.

I bent forward and kissed Penny, getting a giggle that only made me kiss her harder. I'd forsworn my calming rays, but I was now powerless to prevent my arousing force from bathing her. It was wholly involuntary, and only mirroring my own desire.

Penny's eyes grew wider and her face was once more flushed. She'd been smoothing down her short dress, but now abandoned the effort. I could hear her quickened breathing, feel her racing heart, and she began to wriggle under me. Then, as her body moved, I felt something else... not something I had been expecting.

I pulled up, a confused look on my face.

"Um..." said Penny, biting her lip.

I raised my eyebrows, and she went on, "I'm... not quite like... other girls. I... um... well I'm, I guess you could say... special maybe?"

Penny shrugged, well she did her best to do so, given she was lying on her back.

"So I can feel," I replied, pushing my crotch down onto the unanticipated hardness with some interest. I sensed her uncertainty and quickly added, "It's cool, no problem. I like girls and boys, and..."

"Oh," said Penny, in an almost matter-of-fact way, "I have all the... um... traditional cis girl parts down there! I just have... a little extra."

"Feels more like a lot extra..." I mused. And I couldn't resist rubbing myself a little on her.

Penny nodded rapidly, clearly looking to gauge my reaction.

"It's all good," I smiled. "My girlfriend has one too, or at least sometimes."

"Sometimes?" It was now Penny's turn to look quizzical.

I realized I'd been too open, maintaining proper security was so not my thing. Time to do something. A distraction maybe, and - conveniently - what I really wanted to do in any case. Actions spoke louder than words, right?

— — —

I moved backward down the rather substantial length of my new friend's body. White boy shorts were already peeping out from where her dress had rucked up. I lifted the hem, fully exposing both Penny's underwear, and a taut abdomen with a cute 'outie' navel. But it was what her cotton panties were totally failing to contain that most took my interest.

That and, a little further down, a darker patch on her crotch. One that seemed to almost be growing in size as I looked on. The distinctive aroma of an aroused woman reached my nostrils. Then I suspected I smelled pretty much the same as her right now.

I looked up at Penny. "May I?"' As I spoke, I tilted my eyes down to indicate the subject of my question.

I got a bitten lip and a couple of quick nods in response.

Looping my fingers under the elastic of Penny's shorts, I eased them down her narrow hips. Supernatural beings love to sport oversized organs, but even I was rather taken aback by what sprung out from its cotton prison.

"That's... kinda impressive," I gasped, in something close to awe at the size of her uncut appendage.

"Um... thanks, I guess." Penny's large girl cock twitched as she spoke. "Lily, this is Nine. Nine, meet Lily." Nine bobbed in greeting.

"Hi... er... Nine," I replied, not having saluted a penis that many times before. "Why the name?"

Penny tilted her head on one side, raised her eyebrows, and just waited silently for me to catch up.

"Oh... right... of course. Sorry," I said, rather flustered at my own ineptitude, but also at the enticing prospect of getting to know Nine a little better.

"And, I know Nine is kinda hard to ignore, but there is this also." Penny reached down past her monolithic erection to part the lips of the cutest pussy I had ever seen.

"I... I..." I stuttered, my customary angelic serenity deserting me for the moment.

"Don't know where to start?" asked Penny. "It's OK, I'm kinda used to that reaction. Maybe you could start here, and see how we go."

Still lying on the bed, she dragged her dress up and over her head, revealing breasts that were pert, adorable, and - for once - didn't make me feel inadequate. Her freckles extended to cover the two modest mounds of pale flesh, with only her puffy areolae free of them. If I wasn't an engaged angel in a committed - albeit polyamorous - relationship, this could be love.

"So... maybe, you could..." Penny cupped her breasts, "and, then... well it seems like only one of us is naked..."

— — —

Much as the idea of paying some close attention to Penny's nipples was appealing, I felt she had a good point about attire. I had kicked my Keds off as soon as we entered the room, now I stood and unbuttoned my jeans, dragging them down. Reaching behind my neck, I undid the halter of the backless shirt I had selected as convenient for flying, and undid it.

"Ooh!" squealed Penny, "Another IBTC member! We should do the secret handshake."

I still struggled with human customs, and jokes could be a mystery to me on occasion, but Penny made me laugh. "Yeah, how does that go again?"

"Never mind," said Penny. "Just lose the panties."

She suddenly looked shocked, as if her own forwardness was unaccustomed, but I got that big smile again when I wriggled out of my thong; noting that - as expected - it was kinda damp and a little sticky.

— — —

I was pretty comfortable in my own skin, but something about this young woman made me feel a little shy and even uncertain. But I was certain of one thing. I wanted her. I wanted her an awful lot.

I crawled back onto the bed and placed my hands either side of Penny's expectant face, looking down at her. As she returned my gaze, Penny parted her lips just a little. I could see the blood pumping in her graceful, long neck. But it was her expressive eyes that really had me. Behind them was sweetness, curiosity and perhaps a desire to please. But I saw something else: desire. Desire that was beginning to overwhelm her. I shared the feeling, which the sensation of Nine brushing against my naked thigh did nothing to quell.

Without a word, our lips met. Not in soft caress, but with urgent, fiery pressure. Penny's tongue curled deliciously into my welcoming mouth. I felt something else on my other thigh, fingertips dancing up to an obvious destination. I shivered as she made contact with my vulva, gently stroking my now throbbing flesh.

Remembering her request, I broke from Penny's lips, and moved sideways to her ear, breathing softly into it, then nibbling on her lobe. I tracked downward, placing soft kisses on her neck, which made my new lover tense and wriggle under me; eyes closed, breath quickening.

I paused my descent briefly, with a little gasp, as Penny's fingers found my clit. Centering myself, and accepting the electricity she was sending through my nerves, I moved on determinedly. The side of her neck, her collarbone, then across to her sternum, always moving down.

I gave a soft yelp as Penny's digits - two I thought - slipped oh so easily into my warm wetness. I could tease my friend no longer. Taking her left nipple in my mouth and feeling it stiffen, I suckled her. Penny began to moan as I switched to little bites. I reached back between my legs. Nine was obstructing her girl bits, so I settled for stroking its quivering length.

Releasing Penny's breast, I checked in. "Is that good? Or would you prefer your - oh!" My exclamation was due to Penny thrusting her fingers deeper. "Would you... oh!... prefer your clit?"

Penny was breathing heavily as she replied. "It's nice, both are good. I... I can cum independently. But... oh that's nice what you are doing..." I'd gripped Nine and pulled down, visualizing her foreskin peeling back. "But... mmm... keep doing that. Sometimes, I cum both ways at the same... oh fuck... time."

With her spare hand, Penny dragged me down onto her second breast. "Bite me, and keep doing what you're doing to Nine. Mmm..."

I did as I was told, and was rewarded by Penny curling her fingers to massage the front wall of my vagina. She might give off a vibe of inexperience, but Penny sure knew how to pleasure another woman.

Indeed, even given the slightly awkward angle, Penny was beginning to drive me crazy. So crazy, that I could no longer concentrate on her. Instead, I lay my head between her breasts and closed my eyes, focusing entirely on the waves of intolerable pleasure her fingers sent flooding hotly through my body. Penny's heart thumped in my ear as her gifted fingers thrust in and out, hooked just enough to intensify the delicious sensation.

In an almost miraculously short period of time, I was alternately groaning and sighing, then squeezing my thighs onto her hand as shuddering tremors wracked my pulsating body. I felt like a rag doll, if rag dolls could have profoundly satisfying orgasms that is.

Penny had left me speechless. Opening my eyes, I looked up at my new friend. She had a triumphant grin on her pretty, dappled face. "OK for you? I've never had any complaints," she asked.

Finding my voice, yet still breathless, I managed, "You a witch or something? That was... well... fucking awesome covers it. But my turn now!"

— — —

Little flutters still flowing sporadically through me, I lifted off of Penny and repositioned myself between her long, shapely legs. From here, Nine loomed above me, a towering obelisk demanding to be worshiped. But her tiny labia had also petaled, revealing an inviting inner pinkness, shiny with her free flowing juices.

I gripped the root of Penny's girl cock and used it, along with a hand on her leg, to steady myself as I bent to first inhale her intoxicating aroma of arousal, then taste her heavenly secretions; I was something of an expert on heavenly secretions, and hellish ones as well. I felt the muscles in Penny's thighs and stomach tighten as my tongue made contact and probed deeper.

My new lover whimpered as I explored more of her enticing warm interior, while beginning to drag my hand up and down on Nine, covering its glans in her foreskin, then dragging down. As I pulled her frenulum tight at the end of each downstroke, Penny's body twitched and she gave a suppressed yelp.

My face now bathed in her juices, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Raising myself on my elbows, I steered Penny's rock hard shaft toward my eager mouth. I placed two light kisses on her tip, while I held her foreskin forcibly back. "Are you ready for this?"

— — —

Sometimes my approach to fellatio is to start slowly, long languid lollipop licks, building gradually to the main event. Sometimes I want cock, and I want it now. Today, with Penny? Well, maybe you can guess.

I've had partners say that I've attacked them, as if intent on devouring their genitalia. I often thought this to be an exaggeration, but the analogy was apposite today. Despite Nine's dimensions - its girth was even more of a challenge than its length - despite the less than ideal angle, and despite the tender feelings I had developed for its owner, within thirty seconds my lips pushed against Penny's pubic bone. Angels were renowned for their deep throat skills, and I was good, even for an angel.

I looked up at Penny, who seemed shocked that my throat had accommodated her so quickly. I blinked in what I thought might be a reassuring manner, then pulled back, spluttering, lines of saliva linking me to Nine's tip, which was now swollen, purple, and visibly throbbing.

"Let's see if we can get you to that simultaneous orgasm, shall we?" I grinned at her in a way that even my girlfriend might have described as devilish.

I'd noticed that Penny could be chatty, but now, all she did was to meekly nod.

I sunk three fingers into her. She accepted them easily, rewarding me with a deep moan. In a synchronized manner, I began to finger my lover energetically, as I also started to bob up and down on her long shaft, my tongue twisting and playing. My cheeks sucked hard onto her adamantine erection.

I kept eye contact with Penny. Her lids were wide in what looked like amazement, if not shock, at the quantum of pleasure I was dealing out simultaneously to her twitching cock and dripping vagina. She seemed to be struggling to speak, so fevered was my dual stimulation, but managed to pant, "Make... me... cum... please!"

I had every intent of complying with her wishes.

— — —

Without slowing the rhythm of my vaginal penetrations, I locked my lips just under Penny's bulbous glans, my tongue lapping with pressure against her groove. With my free hand, I gripped her shaft at mid height and began to jerk it. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, also upping the pace and depth of my fingering in unison.

At first Penny's eyes widened even more, and then it seemed that she needed to shut down some senses, lest her brain be overwhelmed by too many inputs. Her eyes scrunched closed and her face muscles tight, Penny thrashed her head from side to side in a seeming involuntary fit. Through her clenched teeth, she first breathed, then groaned, then yelled, "Oh wow!... I cant't... I really can't...

don't... dont... don't you dare stop!"

I adore giving pleasure, and I adored Penny. She'd made me quake in a way few but Emma could manage. And never before had any human made me cum so hard. Now I understood the full meaning of her not entirely convincing protestations. That the extremity of emotion and sensation was much too much, but that she still craved it deeply. That she was balanced on the precipice in unstable equilibrium, surrounded by a sea of foaming, roiling intensity. Needing desperately to fall, but not wanting this moment of tortured ecstasy to ever end.

I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't help but reach out to this incredible young woman with my angelic powers. As her stream of fevered 'nos' crescendoed, and as I felt the pulsing in Nine reach, then pass the point of no return, I spoke 'Yes, my sweetness,' directly into Penny's spirit.

She 'heard,' and opened her eyes in astonishment at the very moment that she released into my waiting mouth, and her juices sprayed my still pumping hand.

I smiled inwardly and swallowed, then swallowed again. Then it was my eyes that were wide with confusion, as Nine continued to convulse and shoot a seemingly never ending stream of salty-sour nectar into my oral cavity.

Again, supernatural beings were fond of voluminous ejacuIation, and I was more than used to accommodating a flood. But this was truly a tsunami of semen. My cheeks bulged, my eyes bulged, my throat pulsed in my wholly inadequate attempts to contain the torrent.

Finally I cried uncle, pulling back, stomach overbrimming with ejaculate, cum drenching my chin. Nine's continuing fountain splashed the ceiling in its ferocious outrush. I had never seen anything like it in all my millennia.

Still mid-orgasm, Penny squeaked, "Oh I'm sorry, I cum a lot, but this is... wow! What did you do to me? I'm a fire hydrant!"

I just knelt, looking at her, mouth still full of cum, and wondered what the fuck was going on.

As the fulsome flow of jism finally abated, Penny said breathlessly, "That was really something... But, Lily, what's wrong with your eyes?"

I could feel a rather different type of electricity tearing through my body, and hear a crackling sound. The air smelled of ionization, and my vision turned cobalt blue. 'Oh shit!' I told myself, 'Hold it in, girl, you could fry her!'

Before Oúriēl had restored my abilities, there would have been no way for me to contain the immense power surging inside me. Now? Now I was the spawn of archangels, and I could do this.

With an extremity of effort, I absorbed the excess Divine Grace racing through me. I'd done it. I'd really done it. And my vision returned to normal. Maybe I could even convince Penny it was all OK, without having to wipe her memory.

Then I felt a familiar and excruciating pain in my shoulder blades, and knew there was nothing more I could do.

The look on Penny's face, as large, white, blood-streaked wings burst wetly from my back, and a glowing golden ring encircled my head, was one of amazement. But - brave girl, I told myself - not one of terror, more of wonder.

Indeed she spoke first. "Your eyes went blue. And you're... you're an..."

"Yeah, I know. We should talk," I replied.

— — —

I'd said talk, but I knew full well the import of what Emma and I were trying to achieve at the convention. I really, really didn't want to do this to Penny, but the mission, and multiple lives were dependent on secrecy.

Of course, it might have been easier to absorb my wings first, but it was kinda traumatic, them appearing like that. Better to allow some time for the flesh to knit back together. Angels healed rapidly, but not instantaneously. No, Emma's demon mind tricks it had to be.

Reluctantly, I held out my hand. "You can't see my wings."

"Yeah, I can, Obi-Wan," Penny replied, now even more puzzled.

'What the actual fuck?' I thought.

"Lily is not an angel," I intoned.

"So, you're what? A fairy? A fae? A good witch? And why do you refer to yourself in the third person?"

Shit, was I malfunctioning? Experimentally, I pointed a finger at a bottle of water on the room's coffee table. A bolt of blue lightning flashed out, a puff of steam rose, and there was a smell of vaporized plastic. Hmm... that was working fine, and I'd also managed to discharge a little excess Divine Grace.

"Whoa! You're like, Palpatine," exclaimed Penny.

"Hopefully more Rey," I replied somewhat ruefully.

Accepting that it must be something about my companion that was preventing me from manipulating her memories, I reverted to my initial idea of talking. This was going to be complicated, and take some time. I half wondered where Emma was; she generally did a more succinct job of explaining things.

But no, it was up to me. And Penny sat there expectantly, with not a hint of fear in her face, despite my pyrotechnics.

I took a deep breath and started.

"Once upon a time, there was an angel and a she-demon, who loved each other very much..."

— — —

I was sitting on the edge of the bed, with Penny crossed-legged behind me. She was smoothing down my ruffled feathers as we spoke, for all the World as if we were two middle schoolers braiding hair during a sleepover.

"Right," said Penny, more calmly than I could have imagined. "So you're like a real actual angel, and your partner is a real actual demon."

I nodded. Maybe I was better at this than I thought.

"But I just came in your mouth. Would she be cool with that? She won't be jealous?"

I was thoughtful for a moment. "Well, she might be a bit jealous. Emma does get jealous sometimes. She can't help it really. She's a demon. But most likely, on this occasion, only as I didn't share the semen with her."

I smiled happily. "We both love semen, like a lot. It's one of our favorite things. You know, like in the song...? 'Raindrops on roses...'"

"Not really," said Penny, doubtfully. "But anyway... So Heaven and Hell are totally real places, but they aren't complete enemies? There's um... collaboration between them? Like group projects?"

"Uh-huh," I replied.

"And The Devil is actually a woman? And she has a daughter with an archangel, who lives with you and... Emma, that's right...? Here on Earth?"

This was very impressive recall by my friend. "Yup, you've got it."

"And you and Emma... and Satan's daughter... and... others...?"

"Mostly Elena, she's half human, half angel. And a few human friends of course."

"Of course. So you're like a supernatural Powerpuff Girls?"

I frowned. "No, not really, we're not cartoon characters. I'd say we're more like a..."

I searched for a phrase that might connect with a twenty something human, "... a SWAT team, maybe."

"Oh... My girlfriend would have some strong feelings about me fooling around with a cop. She's an anarcho-syndicalist and..."

This was getting complicated. "No, I'm not a..." I decided that it wasn't so very important after all. "It's just a metaphor, or a simile, or maybe a synecdoche, something like that. Let's move on, OK?"

"And you're here on a mission, to rescue... let's get this right... another female demon, who used to be Emma's sworn enemy, but is now your friend."

"Cozbi, that's right. She's actually kinda sweet, once you get past the snark, and the biting the tongues out of rapists' mouths. Well, when I say sweet..."

"Another metaphor?" asked Penny.

"Huh?" I replied in confusion.

"She doesn't really... you know... bite...?"

I blinked at Penny, unsure how to respond.

"Oh... I see... Well, I'm sure they must have deserved it," she said, clearly wondering what type of people she was associating with.

A thought suddenly struck my young friend. "Wait, so God is definitely real? My parents would be happy to hear that. Oh gosh, I hope he's not mad at me, I stopped going to Sunday school a long time ago..."

"Um... I should maybe mention that Lucy helped him with that whole creation shit, you know, a woman's touch. And... anyway..."

"And what...?" pressed Penny, seeming very interested.

"Well, he's kinda... missing... Cozbi saw him once recently, but other than that..." I shrugged.

"O... K...," said Penny, clearly digesting this latest nugget. Then she went on. "But... and here I get confused... this Coz-whatever has been trapped here by...?"

"Marchosias," I replied, "right hand demon to that scum Asmodeus."

"And Asmodeus is like this mega awful guy, right? Who did some really really bad things to Emma, and Emma's mom, and your mom, and... Oh gosh, Lily are you okay? I have a therapist friend, and..."

"You're sweet, Penny. Angels don't really do therapy. Well, apart from when Em ties me up. She calls that therapy sometimes."

Penny seemed to ignore this observation and continued. "And Asmodeus is in prison, but his friend...?"

"Marchosias," I repeated.

"Yeah, him. He's trapped Cozbi in this convention as payback for her role in defeating his master, right?"

"Yeah, simple, right? You sure your major isn't literary criticism and not art?"

"Definitely art," smiled Penny rather weakly. "And," continued my young friend, "the convention is actually..."

She stopped suddenly as the external lock of the suite whirred and the door was flung open. We both immediately wished that we had closed the bedroom door.

— — —

Given what we had been doing earlier, neither Penny nor I had bothered to get dressed for my marathon exposition session. Anyway I found it very comfortable to be naked around her. Which was why my fiancée and our vengeance demon friend found us both nude, with the room reeking of semen.

Penny grabbed a sheet and tried to cover herself with it, but Nine wasn't being so cooperative, and the large tent she created was more circus dimensioned than weekend camping.

Emma looked at us open mouthed. Cozbi, on the other hand, was as unfazed as ever. She sniffed theatrically. "Is that a new eau de toilette you are using, Lily dear? It's very... evocative."

"Cozbi, what are you...?" I asked incredulously.

"Being rescued by Emma, it appears. The big bad convention is going to eat me or something, right Emma?"

But Emma had other things on her mind. "You're a total mess, honey," she said, finding her voice. She stood arms akimbo as she spoke. "And you didn't save me any?"

"See, I told you," I said to Penny.

"Hello," Emma greeted Penny, remembering what passed for manners in Hell. Still looking at the sheet teepee - a little lasciviously to my thinking - she then addressed me. "I see your angelic viagra is still working."

Getting Em's meaning, Penny blushed and said, "Oh gosh, no! I'm just..."

"Spit it out, for Hell's sake," interrupted Cozbi. Reaching forward, she pulled off the sheet with a magician-like flourish. "Wow! That's certainly... something," the demoness continued, licking her lips, transparently impressed.

I sensed Penny's desire to slap Cozbi - yeah me too sometimes - but she seemed to decide against it, at least for now. Instead she stared at her in a not entirely friendly manner. "Lily only made me cum once. I wasn't finished yet," she said, clearly working up her nerve.

"Ohh, you're a horny little bitch, aren't you?" Cozbi leered. Nine twitched in response. It appeared to like the vengeance demon more than its owner did.

"Shouldn't you have, like, leather wings and horns or something?" Penny countered. "You just look like a normal human lady with fake boobs." The young woman gestured at the deep cut Prada dress that barely contained the statuesque demon's impressive bosom.

"I'll show you fake, you little..."

"Cozbi!" interjected Emma. "The mission!"

"Oh, right," the larger woman sulkily replied. "All work and no play makes Cozbi a dull demon."

"Later, OK?" my partner pleaded.

Turning her head to repeatedly look at me and Emma, Penny chipped in with a very familiar question. "Why do you two look the same? Are you, like, twins?"

Cozbi totally failed to stifle a raucous laugh. "Are you gonna give the speech, or should I? I know it by heart, I've heard it so often."

"If you have a problem with how we look, I could always mention it to your girlfriend," said Emma, with a grin.

"Um..." Cozbi began, then decided that silence might be golden for once.

With as much dignity as I could muster - which was admittedly not a lot, given I was nude, and had cum caked all over my body - I said, "We're not related. This is my fiancée, Emma. It's kinda a long story why we are identical, maybe some other time, OK? And this is Cozbi, our friend."

As I was speaking, my girlfriend drew near to me. Now she stooped and inhaled. Seemingly satisfied with her analysis, she licked my shoulder.

"Emma!" I remonstrated.

Ignoring me, Emma turned to Penny. "Is there more where that came from?" Demons tended to be very direct.

Penny nodded eagerly, and I had to remind Em about the mission. The one l she had been so concerned about only moments ago.

"OK," she began, still looking a little longingly at Nine, "let me explain." Emma paused, then said, "Actually maybe it would be better if we were all naked. Or..."

"Or Penny and I could take a shower and then you could tell me exactly what Cozbi is doing here?" I smiled.

"I like my idea better," said Emma.

I gave her the look and she subsided. "OK, go get cleaned up, then we can talk."

— — —

When we returned from our shower to the central living area, I had a big smile on my face.

Emma knew me too well. "Hey, no fair! I'm feeling left out... again!"

"Calm down, I just... well, I felt bad for Penny. All that pent up... er... emotion. I just... helped to... er... relieve it a little."

"Sure," said Em, arms crossed and a frown on her freckled face.

"Oh please," yawned Cozbi, who was seated at a round table. "Can we skip the marital drama? Unless you two are gonna have a naked cat fight. I'd pay to watch that."

"OK, fine," Emma relented, sitting down next to the other demon. She motioned for us to do the same.

I kissed the top of her head, and added, "Anyway, it was for science. You know, an experiment."

Emma looked at me quizzically. "Science?"

Penny enthusiastically joined the conversation. "Yeah, that blue eyes thing Lily does, we were..."

"Wait!" interrupted Emma, "you cum that much?"

Penny nodded several times.

"This experiment," drawled Cozbi, "was it double-blind?"

"Oh no," I replied. "I didn't pack one blindfold, let alone two. Always pack a blindfold, right? Silly me."

"Enough," said Emma with some finality. "So we might have a way to boost Lily's HPs, could be useful. But I need to update you all on where things stand."

Penny raised her hand, it was kinda perfect.

"Um... I have a question first."

"Is it very important?" asked Cozbi. "We have, like, grown-up stuff to do here."

Penny gave the vengeance demon a look, but said nothing, simply jutting out her chin, She seemed to have a stubborn streak. Given our recent shower experience, I was feeling indulgent toward the human.

"Ask me anything, honey."

"It just... well it makes no sense. You say that Emma's mother and your... uncle, right?... hid you here on Earth for your own safety. Then what's with all the 'you nearly dying being cut off from Divine Grace and needing regular semen infusions.' It... if you don't mind me saying... doesn't make a lot of sense."

I looked at our young friend dumbstruck. I'd never thought about this, rather obvious, point.

"It's... well... Emma... she..." I stuttered.

Cozbi burst out laughing. "You gonna tell her Emmy-Wemmy, or am I?"

Emma was looking far from comfortable, and seemed to currently be finding a spot on the carpet beneath the table extremely interesting.

"Well..." she began, "you know my 'clever idea' about the semen? It might not have been... entirely my own work, that's all."

"Don't be so shy?" said Cozbi, enjoying this immensely, "Clarence told you that your kin had to make the banishment seem real, including the death by Divine Grace withdrawal, but that there was a loophole..."

Emma nodded sulkily.

"And you did what?" Cozbi continued, "took the credit yourself, pretended you were... what does Lily say?... 'such a clever Emma,' right?"

Emma looked at me, demons seldom blush, but she was beetroot-colored.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I... well... I just really wanted you to like me. I know it was dumb."

I began to see the funny side of things. Angels are positive beings and seldom get angry about unimportant stuff, or waste time holding a grudge.

I went and hugged my girlfriend. "Well I do like you, so I guess your cunning plan worked. But please don't keep stuff from me. To love and honor, right? That's what we are both gonna say."

"What about obey?" cut in Cozbi, "that's my favorite bit."

"Shut up, Cozbi," Emma and I said in unison, and the vengeance demon subsided.

Again, Penny raised her hand.

"One more thing... who's Clarence?"

I answered. "Clarence was a good friend. My uncle's right hand man."

I pulled out the glasses, his glasses. I kept them with me always.

"He... he was always so nice to me," I said sadly.

"What happened to him?" asked Penny tentatively.

Emma replied, I was too upset. "He sacrificed himself to save... well all of us. Even Cozbi," she added with a pointed look at the demon.

It was my girlfriend's turn to comfort me. She held me for a long while, then gently said, "We really need to get on with the mission, you OK?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Em. Yeah, it will probably help to talk about something else."

I put Clarence's glasses away and pulled myself together. I even went as far as self-medicating with my angelic calming influence.

"Better?" asked Emma.

"Better," I smiled weakly. "Let's get on with things."

— — —

Emma put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, looking at each of us in turn. It was so adorable when she tried to be all official, and I began to feel more myself.

She turned back to me. "Given that Penny seems to have become a temporary member of the group, how much background do I need to cover for her?"

Penny answered before I could reply. ""Lily filled me in pretty well, I think."

"Was that before or after you filled her up?" asked Cozbi innocently.

The young woman rolled her eyes. "After... And what's your deal anyway? The bad guy turned this convention into, like, a demon MILF cage and you're trapped here, right?"

"I'll MILF you, you little ginger..." Cozbi stood up violently, nearly knocking the table over. She seemed ready to either fight or fuck, and I wasn't entirely sure which.

Emma banged her fists down on the mahogany surface, which, given her stature, was a rather less demonstrative gesture than she might have intended. "Focus, please! This is important."

Looking at Penny, she added, "It's not wise to upset a vengeance demon."

Penny grinned. "Well I did imply, 'I'd Like to Fuck.' That's a compliment, right?" she added sweetly. "Anyway, what's she gonna do, pull my arms out of their sockets?"

"I've been known to do that, sweetie," purred Cozbi, checking the finish of her scarlet nail polish.

I'd now had more than enough of this and flicked an index finger upward. A bolt of lightning flashed out, leaving a singed hole in the ceiling, and a smell of smoke permeated the room.

Unperturbed, Cozbi systematically picked flakes of plaster off of her expensive dress. "A good point, well made, Lily. You were saying, Emma..."

"Well," began Emma, "now that Mom is back in her role as Head of Demonic Intelligence, we know quite a lot. For example, we know that Marchosias is somehow still getting instructions from Asmodeus. By what mechanism is still an active line of inquiry. More importantly, dear As is bent on revenge, which kinda includes all of us."

"Not you, sweetie," Cozbi interjected, looking at Penny. "This is adult talk."

"If you call me sweetie again, Ms. Bolt-on..." snapped Penny, her temper matching her fiery hair, which seemed to frizz out like an angry cat.

"They're real," Cozbi fired back, jiggling her breasts with her hands. "Jealous, beanstalk?" With a sneer she added, "Anyway, you'll do what exactly, sweetie? Flail at me with those matchstick arms? Give me a break!"

"Right!" Penny snapped, getting up, "I did warn you!"

As she stood, the bulge in Penny's dress was rather difficult to miss. Equally obvious was how flushed Cozbi's face had become. And both women were visibly breathing hard.

I looked at Emma. Emma looked at me. We simultaneously raised our eyebrows. Sometimes we had no need to exchange actual words with each other.

Emma spoke for both of us. "By Lucy herself, would you two bitches in heat do me and Lily a favor, and just go fuck!"

"But..." Cozbi objected.

"No 'buts'," replied Em.

"She started..." tried Penny.

"No 'shes' either," insisted my girlfriend. "There's a second bedroom, go use it."

As Emma pointed at the internal door, Cozbi and Penny both glared across the table, each standing with hands planted on its surface, heads tilted toward each other, eyes full of fire.

"Oh good grief," I sighed. "Me and Em know it, you must know it too. Just fuck already! You've both wanted to since Cozbi walked in."

The two women looked at me. They looked back at each other. Then both ran, yes ran, to the other room, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Let's never have kids," said Emma with a resigned air.

"Agreed," I laughed.

Sounds of squeals and flesh slapping on flesh drifted into the room. Emma gestured towards the other bedroom with her eyes. "Shall we?"

"Yes we shall," I replied, taking her hand and exchanging a preparatory kiss.

— — —

All four of us now significantly de-stressed, we reconvened around the living room table.

"So," said Emma, "Naamah, that's my mother, Lucy's Head of Intelligence," she added for Penny's benefit, "got word that Marchosias was targeting Cozbi and..."

"Naturally he went for the most important person first," interjected the vengeance demon.

Emma rolled her eyes, but plowed on. "But, by the time the news reached Mom, it was too late. The dumb fuck had already been captured."

"Captured schmaptured," Cozbi replied. "I simply accepted an invitation."

"Uncritically, unthinkingly, you just walked into a trap," I added.

Cozbi opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, it was Penny who spoke. "I'm sure she had a plan, that she was being brave, right Coz?"

"Coz?" said Emma, trying not to giggle. "You been using mind tricks again?"

Cozbi was about to reply when Penny cut across her. "Mind tricks?"

"You don't want to know about that," said Emma.

"But I really do," replied Penny.

"Huh?" said Em. Shaking her head, she tried again. "Let's forget that and get back to the main subject."

"Well, if you insist," replied Penny, "it was just a question.".

Emma looked at me. "I know, it didn't work for me either," I shrugged. "Anyway we are wasting time."

"You can tell me all about the mind tricks thing later," added Penny helpfully. "What about this demon guy?"

Emma obviously decided to move on. She cleared her throat and continued.

"So, we know that Marchosias created this bubble of reality - to be technical, it's a standing waveform, an improbability amplitude."

I beamed, my gal could be so clever.

"But," Emma went on, "we don't know how. The power required to conjure this convention, the building, the surrounding area, the delegates, all out of nothing? Well that should be way beyond Asmodeus, let alone one of his lackeys."

"That's more Lucy-level power," mused Cozbi.

"Or Alpha himself," I added.

"Who?" asked Penny.

"Oh, you probably know him as God," I replied matter of factly.

"So God might be a bad guy?" said Penny, clearly feeling confused.

"Well," answered Emma, "it's all a matter of perspective, then you'll find out that most things are."

"I don't think anyone is suggesting that either Lucy or Alpha are involved," I explained. "We're just confused by where Marchosias's power comes from."

"Oh, right," said Penny. "But what are we planning to do?"

"Find the bad guy, take him out," I replied.

"But how?" she asked.

Here I had no clue, but thankfully my friends did.

"I met him," said Cozbi. "At least that's my guess. Said he was some author called DJ, tried to convince me that I was just a character in his rather pathetic jerk-off stories. As if?"

"But why do you think DJ is Macaroni?" inquired Penny.

Emma replied before Cozbi could answer. "We don't understand how Marchosias created this bubble, but we're pretty sure that it's sustained by the delegates' belief that they are real, and... well... by their general horniness. Puncture that, and... well... poof!"

"Poof?" said Penny.

"The waveform collapses, taking us with it," replied Em.

"So you think that Marchosias was...?" I said.

"Trying to make Cozbi believe she isn't real? Yeah! As this whole elaborate charade was created to entrap her, it seems like she is the keystone. If she stops believing, then..." Emma drew a finger across her throat and made an 'I'm dead' face.

"And," Em continued, "as things stand, if Cozbi tried to leave, then..." she pantomimed the same result again.

"Shit!" I said. "So that's why you wanted me to keep an eye out for any delegates that were... I guess... having a crisis of belief?"

"Uh-huh," replied my girlfriend. "Or losing their boners, of course."

"And Penny...?"

"Well," said Emma, "authors who write themselves into their stories are a special case. They are... more aware. They could cause the house of cards to fold pretty quickly. But..."

"But...?" 'asked Penny.

"But... well Mom wasn't sure, but people like you might have... abilities here. Abilities that could help. She wasn't more specific."

"Like resisting demon mind tricks," I asked.

Emma shrugged, "maybe."

"And should you be telling me this?" asked our human friend. "Isn't it, like destroying my belief? Won't that burst the bubble?"

"Well, it's just you, that's not enough to make the bubble collapse..."

"Sorry you're not as important as me, sweetie," said Cozbi, stroking Penny's hair, "but I still love you."

Sometimes I really wondered what Emma had ever seen in the vengeance demon. Then there was her famous tongue I guess.

"And..." continued Emma, obviously a little irate at the interruption, "thanks to Lily and Cozbi's... efforts... I think it's rather difficult to describe you as full of existential angst right now. In fact you're radiating post-orgiastic bliss."

Penny blushed furiously. 'The tongue strikes again,' I thought to myself.

Penny swiftly changed the subject. "OK, I - and other author-characters - might have unspecified abilities that might be helpful. Great. What about this Martinet guy? Would you recognize him, Coz? Do we even know if he still looks the same?"

"We know only so much," said Emma, sounding awfully like her mother to my ears. "But Marchosias was disembodied millennia ago. He has to possess other lifeforms. So it's not unreasonable to hypothesize that he still inhabits the same host."

"And what does the host look like?" asked Penny. "Could you, like, draw us something?"

"I can do better than that," said Cozbi. With that, the vengeance demon held up her hands, and closed her eyes. Between her palms appeared a swirling vortex, which then resolved into a human face.

The image was of about as average looking a male human as I could imagine. Not ugly or grotesque, no, not at all. But not particularly handsome, or rugged, or muscular. He had a full head of dirty blonde hair, no bald spots, hardly any gray. His eyes were warm, friendly behind his glasses, with no hidden malice. His smile appeared genuine and affable. Not really what I was expecting at all.

"OK," I said, "so we find this guy, Macaroon. And then what?"

"We try to unpossess him, to drive Marchosias out. That should release Cozbi," replied Emma.

"But won't that also destroy everything else?" asked Penny, horrified.

"No, at least I don't think so," replied my girlfriend. "As I say, this bubble is sustained by all the attendees' collective belief in themselves along with their insatiable sexual appetites. From what I've seen of this crowd, we should be fine."

"Should?" Cozbi rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Well that's just peachy then."

"Maybe if you didn't walk into obvious traps like a demon who was born yesterday, it might help," snapped Emma with some frustration.

"Point, I guess," Cozbi acknowledged in as meek a tone as she could manage. Which frankly wasn't so very meek. "So where do we start looking for this asshole?"

"There's another event in the ballroom, it's just started. Everyone should be there," replied Emma.

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Cozbi.

"Nothing, I guess," replied Emma as patiently as she could manage. "Let's go."

— — —

As the four of us left the room, Cozbi shouted, "Watch out!"

I readied myself to respond to whatever the threat might be, fearing the worst. But then I sighed in relief as a young boy on a tricycle sped past and disappeared around a corner.

"What's he doing at a convention of erotic authors?" I asked, not really expecting a reply.

Cozbi shrugged. "Maybe he's the brother of the creepy twin girls Emma and I saw on our way up to the room."

When I looked at her strangely, the demoness continued, "Hey, what the fuck do I know? These deviant authors are all fucking bizarre, OK? I've been here less than 48 hours and I've seen shit that would make a Succubus blush."

"Can we get on?" Emma snapped.

We followed her toward the elevators, heading for the event below.

— — —

As we entered the ballroom, strains of Chappell Roan met our ears. Almost immediately, Penny began gyrating. Her movements, while enthusiastic, left something to be desired when it came to coordination.

As for her singing...

"Oh mama, I'm just having fun

On the stage in my heels

It's where I belong..."

Emma - she actually has a lovely voice, sings like an angel, yeah, I know! - winced slightly.

Cozbi, who now seemed super loved-up with the young human - looked on adoringly. "I knew a gay centaur once," she reminisced. "He adored pink, used to wear it all the time. He was bigger than even Penny here; such a waste. Enough to almost make me want to be a guy really."

"Wait! What?" said Penny, ceasing her singing abruptly as Katy Perry was passed the baton.

"Oh, nothing, sweetie," breezed the vengeance demon. "Let's keep a look out for Marchosias, shall we?"

— — —

As we walked further into the ballroom, a graceful figure, with a shock of red hair approached us, a welcoming smile on her pretty face.

"Hi, I'm Freya," she said, extending her hand.

"Yeah yeah, we met." Cozbi barely acknowledged her, instead scanning the faces of people in the substantial crowd.

"Right?" Freya responded, as if her memory wasn't working so well. "But... you still don't have a convention ID, and I..."

"Really? Again?" With a dismissive wave, the vengeance demon sighed. "I'm gonna get myself a drink. ID...? IDs are for little people." She gestured at me and Em. " Like those two. It doesn't get much littler than them."

"Come on, sweetie," she added for Penny's benefit. "You might not be legal to drink in Kansas, or wherever you're from, but I'm pretty sure it's OK here."

With that she pulled Penny after her, the human waving and smiling apologetically back at us as she left.

"How rude," said Freya to me and Emma. "I see you two have a better attitude to IDs. Though..." She pulled out a phone and began to consult a list, looking up to check the details on our tags. "The White sisters, two of Emily's creations. Hmm... I only have an Amy Stevens here. Are you...?"

"We're not sis..." I began, only for Emma to talk over me.

"You don't need to check our IDs," she said.

"I don't need to check your IDs," mumbled Freya, with a slightly confused frown.

I looked at Emma, rather concerned about her casual manipulation of the poor woman. I was also kinda confused that her mind tricks were working on another author-character, when they didn't on Penny. What was up with that? But Em just ignored me.

"We can go about our business," my girlfriend added.

"You can go about your business," mirrored Freya.

"And why not go and suck off that guy over there? He's been checking you out the entire time we've been talking," suggested Emma.

"I'll go and..." began Freya.

"Oh no you won't," I interjected. "Not unless you really want to, that is."

"I really want to," Freya assured me, walking off in the direction of the soon to be very surprised and happy man. Looking back over her shoulder she winked and added, "Thanks for the excuse."

I shrugged, and Emma and I split up to better look for our target.

— — —

Every now and again, I caught sight of my partner as we both walked through the throng of happy, horny delegates. Each of us was scanning left and right. We both had eidetic memory and the image that Cozbi had shared was burned into it. So far, neither of us had had a hit.

There were a lot of people, close to two hundred I estimated. Most just chatting, some obviously moving things on to the next level, in pairs or larger groupings. It would be easy to miss one person among so many, but I did my best to be thorough. I was a thorough kind of angel. But still, nothing.

Then there was an uproar, raised voices coming from the bar. One of them I recognized as Cozbi's. I saw Emma, not so far off, and we exchanged a glance. She nodded, and we both headed quickly toward the noise.

Two uniformed men sporting labels saying 'Security' stood in between Cozbi and a tall man; I couldn't see his face. Penny was hovering in the background, looking rather worried.

One of the guards was foolish enough to be holding his hand up to Cozbi's chest, telling her to both calm down and keep back. This was not going to end well for him. I understood that many a mortuary was filled with the remains of men who had tried to tell our friend what to do. As we neared the group, I dialed my angelic serenity force to eleven.

This seemed to help. The security guy lowered his hand and beamed at Cozbi; an expression that was not in any way reciprocated. Even Penny was now smiling. But not - I noted as he turned his head - the tall man, whose bespectacled face was very familiar to me. We had found him.

Then he spoke, his voice the epitome of friendly reasonableness, and I found that I wanted to believe him.

"Ma'am," he addressed Cozbi, "I think you may have mistaken me for someone else. I don't believe we have ever met."

Cozbi seemed to me to be losing her resolve. She even stopped scowling. It couldn't be due to me, I thought; my calming rays don't work on demons. I'd tried once on a grumpy Emma, and nope, it just made her more grumpy. But something about how the man spoke seemed inherently... trustworthy. I assumed that maybe Cozbi had got muddled.

I looked sideways at Emma. What was she doing? It looked like she was... sniffing. Huh?

Cozbi began to speak, her tone now conciliatory. "I'm sorry... er... Sir..."

I'd never heard her be so deferential.

"I guess... maybe I... saw you at the bar the other night... when I was talking to someone else... and... got confused."

Clearly there had been a mix up. We'd have to think of another way to flush out Marchosias. But still, Em was sniffing the air repeatedly.

Then she nodded once - as if confirming something to herself - and addressed Cozbi. "I know Alpha upgraded you for 'services rendered' - well gestational organs borrowed anyway - but there is at least one thing I can do that you can't. It's maybe the only thing I have my father to thank for."

At least when speaking to Emma, Cozbi seemed more her normal self. "I know, Miss High And Mighty 'My Daddy Is A God!' I thought he tried to liquidize you when you last met."

"He did," said Em, "but I still inherited his sense of smell. And what I smell is... demon."

The bespectacled man had been a picture of relaxed good humor. His face now rapidly transformed into an evil-looking leer. In a flash he grabbed Penny, drew a dagger, and held it to her throat.

"Very clever, Miss White," he jeered, "but I hope you are going to be reasonable. It would be a pity to stain the carpet with your friend's blood."

"Let her go now, you lying piece of shit." Cozbi's previous tranquility had rapidly evaporated.

"Or what, Alpha's slut? There is nothing you can do to hurt me. In fact, let's give you a panoramic view of your friends dying, shall we? I'll leave you to last."

Suddenly Cozbi froze. She seemed to be totally immobilized, only her still swiveling eyes indicating any sign of life. Then her body began to levitate, ending up six feet off of the floor.

— — —

At the sight of the suspended vengeance demon, a murmur went through the crowd, morphing into shouts and screams. People scattered in panic, but found the ballroom doors locked.

Marchosias laughed maniacally at the disarray he had caused. "Sheep, I created sheep," he cackled. "And I feel like eating mutton."

He raised an arm and a fireball flew from his palm. Where a group of three furries had been cowering was now just smoke, and a smell of burned hair filled the air. For a second there was silence in the room, then a cacophonous chaos erupted, with people yelling and trying to climb over each other, anything to get away from the demon.

Using Marchosias's momentary distraction, Penny wriggled free and began to run. She had no real direction, and was simply trying to put distance between herself and the demon.

With another laugh, Marchosias flung his dagger with murderous celerity and supernatural accuracy at the fleeing woman's back. I was rooted to the spot in horror. But the dart was consumed in a crackle of red lightning milliseconds before impact. Looking to my left, Emma - as was her wont - had acted, while I reacted.

She looked at me and winked, as Penny flung herself into the throng of delegates and at least temporary safety. I decided it was time to help my girlfriend out.

Marchosias was looking at us with an expression somewhere between mild annoyance and total indifference. The sort of look you give a buzzing housefly which is too high to reach and probably not worth your effort to deal with.

Emma and I simultaneously discharged at our adversary, our blue and red electricity mingling. We had both been restored to our former powers and the two of us had been enough to at least send a God reeling - family reunions could be so tiresome - but Marchosias simply grinned at us from behind what appeared to be a protective globe.

Shit! No second-tier demon should be that powerful. What was going on?

I glanced at Emma again in consternation. "I've got this," she yelled above the clamor. "Go power up!"

As she finished the sentence, a massive fireball hit the spot where she had been standing, but Emma had cartwheeled out of harm's way just in time, and was now loosing more energy bolts at Marchosias, albeit with little effect.

'Penny,' I told myself, 'I need to find Penny.'

— — —

The hissing of energy and the explosion of fireballs filled my ears as I sprinted toward the last place I had seen Penny. There was nothing else I could do right now. Emma was a big girl - in spirit if not stature - and I had to trust her to keep Marchosias busy.

Where was Penny? Nowhere to be seen at first. Then I spotted her, kneeling beside a man who was huddled on the floor, weeping. I could hear her trying to provide words of comfort. She really was a gem of a woman.

"Penny," I yelled, and she turned around.

As she did, a tremor ran through the building. I looked up and cracks were beginning to appear in the ceiling. Penny was now next to me. "What's happening?" she cried above the din. "Is it the battle?"

While Emma and Marchosias's thrusts and counter-thrusts were indeed thunderous, I feared that the true cause was even more disturbing.

"I think it's the delegates," I shouted. "I can't imagine the idea of being incinerated is good for their libidos."

"You mean the bubble...?" Penny gasped, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, so I need to get in the game," I replied, "and I need to do it quick."

To her credit, Penny understood my meaning immediately. Still, a look of horror crossed her freckled face. "What? Here? Like in front of all these people? I don't think Nine would like that."

"Kinda," I said as sympathetically as I could manage in the circumstances. "But I can maybe do something to make things easier for you. If you are willing, that is."

Penny nodded. "I want to help."

"OK," I said, placing my hands on her cheeks. "Trust me."

I concentrated, and the scene of carnage around us shimmered, blurred, then vanished. The deafening noise abated, and in its place was the restful lapping of gentle tropical waves. I felt warm sand under my feet.

Penny looked around her. "We're on a beach, and we are both naked. How...?"

"No time," I said, as gently as I could. "A nice, secluded beach, OK? But it seems like Nine still needs some love. Don't worry, this is my speciality."

I knelt, hoping the sand didn't get anywhere too irritating, and steered Nine's shrunken shape between my lips. At the same time, I bathed Penny in rays of arousal. The combination led to a pleasing rigidity in mere seconds.

Time was short, but I still needed to check in with Penny. I sat back on my haunches, and looked up at my young friend. "You OK? Can we do this?"

"Yeah, I think so!" she replied. "I don't like that March Hare guy much. But I don't know how fast I can make this happen, though."

I grinned at her. "Nothing is quicker than a determined angel."

"Do you want me to jerk it, or wh-- oooohhhh, gossshhhh!"

Thirty seconds. A new personal best I reflected as I allowed myself a moment to savor Penny's voluminous semen flood, making sure to swallow every single power-giving drop. As Nine twitched and pulsed and Penny moaned in eyes-tight-shut ecstasy, I could feel energy building in me. I could sense the crackle of current racing through my veins.

When her quivering finally stopped, I pulled back from Penny, collecting a few stray globules from my chin and licking a final bead from Nine's tip.

"Thank you," I said with great earnestness. "Let's do that again, but in better circumstances next time, OK?"

I got a washed out smile from Penny. And then - as always - she was thinking of others. "Go. Help Emma. Help Cozbi. Save us all."

With that, we were back in the ballroom. Penny was clasping the material of her dress, which miraculously was still in place.

"Go!" she yelled.

So I went to the aid of my fiancée.

— — —

I headed back into the fray. Cozbi was still suspended above where Emma and Marchosias were duking it out. 'Cozbi has gotta be pissed,' I thought. 'Powerlessness is so not her thing.' But I had other things to worry about aside from the hurt feelings of a vengeance demon.

I could see the fatigue in Emma's more labored movements. Meanwhile Marchosias seemed to have barely broken a sweat. I had not returned to the fight a moment too soon.

My girlfriend evaded yet another fireball, then loosed her own volley of electricity back at her opponent. As he easily swatted her attack away, Emma took half a second to look at me, the crooked smile I knew so well on her face. But she had clearly been burned, one side of her face was a mess of blood and blackened skin. Fuck!

In a blind rage, I thrust my hands forward at Marchosias, channeling both Penny's Divine Grace and my own searing anger and hurt. The demon's invisible shield seemed to burst asunder, fractured by the pulsing shaft of blinding blue light I hurled at him. And he stumbled backward, his equanimity punctured for the first time.

"Fuck, yeah!" yelled Emma, "that's my girl!"

She too pummeled Marchosias with her own attack, and the demon writhed in agony as red lightning enveloped him. 'We're actually gonna do this,' I told myself.

I hit our opponent again, and this time my energy bolt knocked him to the floor. A cheer went up from the delegates.

From the ground Marchosias eyed me malevolently. Emma was recharging, about to deliver what could be the coup de grace. Then our demon foe thrust his arm upward. He sent a massive fireball careening to the ceiling, where it exploded. The masonry was already cracked, showing how close this little world was to collapse, and huge chunks of planchment began to fall from above.

But Marchosias's aim had not been random. Emma dodged from side to side, trying to avoid the slabs of fractured concrete raining down. But she was too tired, too slow, or maybe just unlucky. My partner screamed as a huge block crushed her with a sickening crunch.

"No!" I yelled, sprinting to my stricken girlfriend l, but I never reached her. Distracted by my anxiety, a second fireball hit me. A glancing blow but the weight of it, and the searing heat were overwhelming, and everything went black.

— — —

I swam back into consciousness, it could only have been seconds for which I was out.. My bones were aching, my skin crisped, my hair fried, and my vision blurred. To my left, Emma lay motionless in a pile of rubble, her face mired with blood; still breathing, but only shallowly. With effort, I rolled the other way and saw Cozbi, hanging mid-air, paralyzed. Her eyes swivelled toward me, burning with a terrible, impotent anger.

I heard his laughter and it somehow gave me the will to rise again. I dragged my battered body off the floor and stood facing him, shoulders heaving with the effort of filling my lungs, but still with a little blue energy crackling through my veins. Emma hadn't given up, she had given her all to the fight. I would do the same.

I thrust my arms forward with a scream, but Marchosias - now seemingly recovered - deflected my attack with a simple wave of his hand. I slumped to my knees, exhausted by the effort of what I knew had been the final roll of the dice. I waited for oblivion, hopelessly.

And yet he still taunted; it seemed mental torture was more important to him than the kill. Asshole!

"You poor thing! Are you worried about your girlfriend? There will be nothing to worry about soon enough, her spirit is ebbing. It will not be long."

"You still talking? Get on with it, I'm sick of your fucking voice," I said bitterly.

Again, that laugh. It felt like needles. "Look at all this." He waved at the ballroom and the throng of characters huddled by the walls in terror. "I created this. I created them. I harnessed the power of every negative thought a human has had about someone else. Every hate-filled comment. Every debasement of a fellow being, just to buttress an insecure ego. So many humans are bitter and vindictive. They just want to destroy. But... when you harness that fear and loathing... you can move mountains. Or create conventions and their attendees."

He turned to Cozbi. "Do you see what your disloyalty and betrayal of my Master has wrought? You will die, knowing that no one crosses Asmodeus and lives."

Cozbi glared at him, unable to either move or reply.

I managed to find some small words of resistance myself. "No... I... will... stop... you."

Again that laugh. "You? You are just a girl. Your friends can't help you now. A mere girl is no match for the power in me."

He held up his arms, and behind him loomed countless shadowy forms. "I am all the petty hate of humanity. And I am legion!"

Softening his voice to an oleaginous whisper, he added, "And you are all alone, aside from these pathetic puppets that I made." With a sweep of his hand, the demon encompassed the terrified rabble around him.

I bowed my head, knowing the truth of his words. Awaiting the inevitable...

Then a voice rang out, ""She's not alone, you... you mean douchebag!"

'Penny?' I thought.

Marchosias guffawed. "Who are you? I created you! You, and all the other marionettes here."

"No," said Penny, her voice small, but determined. "You didn't create me, I created me. I'm in control of my own destiny, I get to choose for myself!

"And it's not just me; there are others here too! Writers and creators and people who stand against toxic negativity! People who love, and who create love, and who want other people to feel love!

"People who bring new things into the world, who believe in the power of crafting beauty, and humor, and tears, and joy, and... and horniness! So much horniness!

"I'm a character... and I'm also a creator. And I stand with Lily!"

As she finished, I felt something. Nothing was visible, and yet strength flowed into me. I could stand once more.

I turned to see Penny, who had defiantly stepped forward. Then I saw another movement. With a flash of red hair, a second figure detached themselves from the crowd. She seemed to be wiping some white substance off of her face.

"I'm a writer too. I created me, and I control me. And I really don't like assholes. I stand with Lily."

"Freya," I breathed, feeling her support also surge into my body. But I knew it wasn't enough, not by a long way.

Penny spoke louder and more surely. "See, there are lots of us! People who want to make new things, who want to spread happiness... who won't be stopped by the hatred of others!"

Looking around the other convention attendees, she yelled, "Any other writers here? It's time to take a stand!"

There was silence for a second, then multiple people took a pace forward. Too many to take them all in, but I could pick out some figures and the words that they said:

A man in his early forties, average build with short, brown hair: "I am Bassytian, creator of Tiafell. I stand with Lily!"

A mid-thirties woman, with a gold ring on a chain around her neck: "I am Ali X, creator of Ship's Whore. I stand with Lily!"

A fifty something male with silver grey hair: "I am Bryan Richardson, creator of Erika Waldera I stand with Lily!"

A six foot man with a luxuriant mustache: "I am AlexFourways, creator of Bella. I stand with Lily!"

The last person I noticed was a somehow familiar looking small, blonde woman: "I'm Emily Williams, creator of... well that's probably not very important right now. And I absolutely love you, Lily."

With each person who offered their support, I felt more power surge into me. There must have been more than forty people who spoke up; authors all.

Suddenly everything froze, turned gray. I felt still, and calm, and that there was a familiar presence close by. A caring, nurturing presence - if maybe one that was sometimes a little too fussy.

And I heard his voice. "Remember, Lily, I will be with you always. Use the love, Lily."

With that, I was back, and I recalled something. Reaching into the pocket of my shirt, I felt an object. A treasured memory of a good friend. I pulled out Clarence's glasses, and put them on.

Turning back to Marchosias, I flexed my hands and lightning sprang from them to the floor. Quietly I said, "Game on, motherfucker." Maybe Clarence wouldn't have approved of my language, but he surely would have agreed with the sentiment.

The demon looked confused, this wasn't the script he had been reading from. "No, this can't... I... I am all the hate!"

Louder, but with icy calm, I replied, "And I am all the love. The love that every creator pours into their works."

He launched a fireball at me. I raised my hands, forked branches of electricity streaming from them. The blue light and orange flames met between us. For a few seconds there was equilibrium, the outcome uncertain...

Then the orb of fire was flung violently back at the demon. And - with a drawn-out wail - I could see Marchosias's essence expelled from its human vessel. It hung in the air for a moment, then dissolved as his spirit was splintered into a million fragments.

— — —

I startled as a heavy thud made the floor vibrate. And heard a familiar voice. "Shit! I've broken a heel. These are Jimmy Choos, dammit!. It's close to impossible to get them in my size!"

I ran and offered Cozbi a hand, embracing her tall form as she stood. To my surprise, the usually standoffish she-demon hugged me back. "Thank you, Lily."

Then another voice sounded, weak, but distinct. "Not bad for an angel, I guess. But can I get a little help?"

I saw that Penny and Freya had already gone to Emma. They had gotten her into a sitting position, but it was devastatingly clear to me that my girlfriend was grievously hurt, that her body was broken and burned beyond healing. All around me, authors were hugging and shaking hands. But I only cared about one thing.

Kneeling beside my dying life partner, I sensed her life force weakening. I kissed her lips, and sobbed, "I'm so sorry, Emma, I just wasn't strong enough."

"Fuck your silly self-recrimination, you stupid towhead," she wheezed. "A little blue light maybe, before it's too late?"

"Shit! Yes, of course." Hurry, you moron, I told myself.

I held my hands above my lover, and a pale azure iridescence enveloped her. Emma closed her eyes and sighed. The radiance sunk into her body and was no more. Had it worked, or had I been too slow...? I'd been too slow, surely.

It seemed like minutes... long, long minutes. I had almost given up hope. But then... then Emma opened her eyes, and smiled up at me. "You took your fucking time! Now help me get up."

I dragged my partner, her normal face restored, to her feet, and I kissed her as if I'd never kiss her again. And then Cozbi joined us, and Penny, and Freya, and we formed a ball of pure relief, held together by hugs and tears.

I looked around the ballroom. The non-author characters appeared dazed and uncertain. A small, boyish woman with short hair spoke up. "What's going to happen to us?"

A taller and curvier blonde standing next to her added, "That guy, whoever he was, he said he created us. Now he's... well whatever you did to him. So do we... just disappear?"

I took a deep breath and answered best I could. "Truth is, I don't know. It's not up to me. It's up to your authors. They are your true creators. Marchosias just co-opted their creations. Some of your authors are here - many just helped defeat the bad guy - others are elsewhere. But I know one thing. I know your authors all cared enough about you to bring you into being, to gift you life. I think... I think you're gonna be OK."

I could sense a rustle of whispers around the room. Maybe my words had not brought as much comfort as I had hoped.

Another thought occurred to me.

"I don't see the hotel collapsing anymore, do you?"

There was a general shaking of heads.

"So my advice is to have fun. Get back to what you were doing. Eat, fuck, and be merry. None of us really knows what happens next. Enjoy the time you have and don't worry so much about its length."

Emma whispered in my ear; she had a point. "OK, given it's that type of convention, maybe length is important after all. But seriously, just have fun and be nice to each other. Isn't that what life is meant to be about?"

I decided to take my own advice and kissed my resurrected fiancée as deeply and as passionately as I ever had before.

It was good to be alive and better to be with her.

— — —

— Epilogue 1 —

I'd done my best to help out; to support Lily when she needed it most; even though my feelings had been... 'clouded' was the word. I had half thought of going and saying 'Hi' to her and Emma. But they say never meet your heroes, and they seemed... well busy.

Also, I couldn't shake the lingering thought that this was somehow all my fault. Just another of my overblown, melodramatic, and much too complicated plots. Anyway, I was pretty certain that I shouldn't be here. Back home with hubby was the best place for me. Not galavanting with supernatural beings, especially my own supernatural beings.

But there was one thing I did feel I had to do. I somehow knew it was in my power to fix one important thing. Or at least to try.

In the center of the ballroom was a burnt-out husk that had once been a man; Marchosias's unfortunate surrogate. Despite the charred and lifeless features, I recognized him, and felt tears welling up.

'Keep it together, woman,' I told myself. 'Maybe you can...?'

Looking hastily around, I saw that no one was taking much notice of me. With some trepidation, I extended my hands over the corpse, just as Lily had done with Emma. "Let's hope this works after death as well as before," I muttered under my breath.

A blue plasma-like nebula extended from my palms and wrapped around the twisted figure, almost tenderly. So far so good. I closed my eyes and hoped.

"What the actual fuck?" I heard in tones that could only be those of a Jersey boy.

"Hi, hun," I replied, totally failing to contain a crooked smile. "I guess we get to meet at last."

— — —

— Epilogue 2 —

Penny pulled her phone out of a little pocket in the side of her dress -- she philosophically refused to wear dresses that didn't have pockets -- and tapped the top entry in her contact list.

"Hi Kayla! Oh gosh, wait! What time is it there?"

"Okay sorry for waking you up babe, I just... I needed to talk to you!"

"No, the convention is... it wasn't what I thought it was going to be."

"Yes Kayla, I'm fine!"

"No Kayla, you don't need to punch anybody..."

"In the morning, yeah. I actually need to pack and try to get a couple hours of sleep."

"Wait no that's not why I called! Babe listen! I know you're an atheist and don't believe in God, but... but what are your feelings about angels and demons?"

THE END

— — —

Endnotes

Thank you to the lovely, PennyThompson, for initially allowing me to borrow her eponymous character. But, as the story developed, our collaboration became deeper, and this is why she is now listed as co-author.

The plot, and most of the characters, are pretty much all me (you can tell, right?). But the characterization of Penny Thompson is pretty much all her. It was actually a super-rewarding process working together and making our individual visions gel. I hope our shared enjoyment in writing comes across in the text.

Thank you also to Freya Gersemi for creating and organizing this fun new event.

This stand-alone story is not a direct continuation of Djmac1031's Lit-Con story, When Cozbi Met Amy, but it does share some connective tissue with his work. Both also feature his character, Cozbi. WCMA is super fun, so why not check it out?

Beyond that, Djmac1031 kinda put a very beautiful and moving bow on our shared Angels & Demons stories with Between Angels And Demons. Please go read his stories if you haven't already.

But I love these characters so much that I wasn't going to leave them alone for too long. Djmac1031 wrote a Cozbi story for Lit-Con, so this felt like a natural progression. There are still many adventures for my soon-to-be-married angel and demon to have; to say nothing of the friends and associates they have assembled around themselves. Watch this space!

Thank you to the other Literotica authors who allowed me to use therm in cameo at the end: Bassytian, AlinaX, BryanRichardson, and AlexFourways.

Finally, thanks also to Djmac1031 for both alpha reading and editing, in his customary, super helpful manner.