I just wanted to rewind the last couple of days and do them over.

A few hours later Nora, Jim, and I left just as a cleaning crew arrived to muck out, repair, dry, and de-smoke Drake’s bedroom. The last sight I had of Drake was a smoldering look he sent me before he left for Paris to deal with an issue that arose with his French businesses. He was as unsatisfied as I was with the lack of culmination of our morning’s activities, but I knew Drake—his passion matched mine, so I was confident we’d find a way to get together before the sun had time to set.

“What is it they say about the weather on a wedding day?” Jim asked as it stepped out of the house, glancing up at the sky, filled with gray, sodden clouds.

“It is not my wedding day,” I said firmly, giving Jim’s leash a snap to pull it away from smelling a passerby’s butt. Rene pulled up in front of the house, the windshield wipers of his taxi making slow passes across the wet windshield. “Morning, Rene.”

“Good morning.”

“Hey, don’t kill the messenger. You wanted a bloodless solution to the imp situation, and I suggested you marrying the current monarch. End of problem. It’s not like it would be a real marriage or anything. Hi, Rene. I’ll arm wrestle you for the best-man position.”

I sighed as I followed Jim into the taxi. Nora climbed into the front seat next to Rene, settling the carrier with Paco on her lap. “Good morning, Rene. We’ve had a bit of an upset this morning.”

“Best man?” Rene asked, craning to look back at us. “Upset?”

“It’s a long story. Can we tell you en route? We’ve got to get Nora to a meeting with the committee in twenty minutes, then we’re off to sacrifice Jim in order to make peace with the imps.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I distinctly remember saying no to that whole sacrifice-Jim idea!”

Rene gunned the engine and pulled out into traffic, narrowly missing a bus, two elderly pedestrians, and a suicidal squirrel. “Do not leave out a single word. I want to hear about it all.”

It didn’t take long to bring Rene up to date with the latest happenings, which is good because it turned out that the London headquarters of the International Guardians’ Guild was a short ride from Drake’s house.

“I believe I understand,” he said, turning in an underground parking garage. “You must settle the imps most strenuously. And Nora must convince this committee that she has done nothing to be punished for, hein?”

“Right. And I have”—I checked my watch—”oh, man. Where did the day go? I have less than fifteen minutes to come up with a plan to get Ariton the demon lord off my back. Lovely. Oh, well, I’ll have to do it after the Guardian meeting.”

I thought Nora’s head was going to come off her neck, so fast did she swivel her head around to look at me. “What is that about Ariton? What dealings do you have with him?”

We pulled into a parking spot. “We are here. I, too, am interested in hearing about this demon lord,” Rene said.

“There’s not much to tell, guys, honest.” I made a little gesture of innocence. “Evidently because I’m technically a demon lord, there’s some sort of etiquette that says I’m eligible to vote on stuff to do with Abaddon, or something like that. And before anyone starts freaking, I’m not going to get involved in any petty squabbles between demon lords.”

Rene stared at me in the rearview mirror. Nora gazed at me with a mixture of horror, concern, and sympathy.

Jim groaned, laid its head on the seat, and covered its eyes with two big, hairy paws.

“What?” I asked everyone, wondering why they were making such a big deal out of it.

“Aisling, I can’t believe you don’t know about the Vexamen. I was sure you had heard of it.”

I sighed. “You know, I don’t want to always be so clueless, but it’s a bit difficult when I’m new and everyone assumes I know stuff. What’s a Vexamen, and what does it have to do with Ariton and all the surprised faces you’re making at me?”

Rene shook his head as he got out of the car, opening my door, then going around to take Paco from Nora and help her out.

“Vexamen is the event that happens every six hundred years. It falls on the autumnal equinox, which is in three days. Vexamen is an upheaval in Abaddon, when one demon lord rises to supremacy and rules over the others. Surely you’ve heard of it?”

I shook my head as I got out of the car, snapping a leash on Jim’s collar. “Nope. Jim, why didn’t you tell me after we left Ariton’s place?”

“You didn’t ask me,” my annoying demon said.

Nora stumbled, grabbing my arm to stop me as we crossed the parking garage. “You went.. . you visited a demon lord in his abode?”

Rene sucked his teeth and looked thoughtful.

“It’s not like I had any choice,” I told them both. “I was pretty much kidnapped, and I had just been skewered, if you’ll remember. What’s the big deal about me going to Ariton’s digs? It was that house in Islington that gave you the willies, so bonus points to you for sensing Ariton’s presence. Although, I have to admit... I am having doubts that he shot at me.”

Nora’s hands fluttered around with distress. “Aisling, this just isn’t done! No one I know—no one I’ve ever heard of has visited a demon lord in his home. To do so would imply that one is ...”

I straightened my shoulders, lifting my chin. “Go ahead. I’m strong; I can take it. What am I? Damned?”

“Unclean,” she said after wrestling with the word for a moment.

“Unclean as in impure? Tainted? Dabbling in dark powers?” I asked, my heart dropping. It seemed like I just couldn’t catch a break lately.

“That’s as apt a description as any,” Nora said slowly. She hesitated for a moment, then started toward the stairs that led to the building above us. “I know you are innocent and not at all influenced by this demon lord you met, but it’s vitally important now that you not have anything further to do with him. As it is, I am not sure how we are going to explain to the guild this latest, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“I’m sorry to be giving you more trouble,” I said miserably as we climbed to the lobby of a busy building filled with professional offices. “I had no idea this Vexamen thing was going on. I never intended to become involved.”