James had gotten the address for Gabriel Preston from the records at the station and was on his way to visit him and speak to him about this mother of all demons, Lilith. He had been told by John and Rachel that they referred to her as the mother, as she was the strongest demon out there. How the conversation was going to go, he had no idea. He was about to talk to the devil of all people about a demon from, well, hell and Lucifer was the king of it. He rang the bell and stood back a bit and waited for the door to open. The house wasn't unlike his own. It was also a mansion type, clearly either the body he had assumed was wealthy, or it was Lucifer himself. Either way, though he had been the one to suggest talking to him, he was a little nervous. He was still very much getting used to the idea of living in a place like this.
The door opened after a minute, and a dark haired man, around his own height was standing there, with a smile on his face. “Good morning, I know we haven't met yet, but since I know everyone who lives here, I am going to take a guess that you are the new sheriff. James Hanaway, I presume?” James raised his eyebrow, he was very perceptive, but then, of course he would be, he was the devil for fuck's sake. “Yes, that's right and I'm here to talk to you about something rather alarming that we have discovered. I told John that I would talk to you as it would allow me to introduce myself.” Gabriel smiled and stood back and opened the door further, “Well, do come on in. It's my pleasure to meet you.” He said holding his hand out, and James reluctantly shook it. Yeah, Rachel might have said that he wasn't all that bad, but he had been told awful things about the devil, so his first thought wasn't to exactly hug him let alone trust him. “Nice to meet you too.” James replied, not wanting to admit to any pleasure until he got to know him more. James was quick to notice the British accent, everyone else he had met so far, were American. It made him wonder if this place was some sort of beacon to their kind, would there be a lot more people from other places other than America.
Gabe beckoned with his hand for James to take a seat which he did. “Can I get you anything to drink, tea, coffee, something stronger?” James wasn't sure he should accept, what if he poisoned it, damn, he was being very distrusting. It was unlike him not to give people a chance. He mentally kicked himself for being like that. “A coffee would be great thanks, though you might need something stronger.” Gabe raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, “Oh, it must be very alarming indeed. Just let me get you your coffee and then you can tell all.” Gabe went off into the kitchen and poured the coffee from the machine and brought it out with milk and sugar, so that James could help himself and put it down on the table in front of him. “Help yourself to whatever you need.” Gabe poured himself a Scotch and then sat down across from James, “Well, I have something stronger, do please carry on with the alarming news.” He sipped on his drink and waited for James to talk.
James wasn't overly sure where to begin, but then, it's not like Gabriel wouldn't be used to this kind of thing. He wasn't talking to a normal human after all. “What if I said the name Lilith?” He made it as simple as that. This made Gabe down his drink and then he placed it onto the table beside him. “Well, you weren't wrong when you said I'd need something stronger. For the love of hell, what has she done now?” He thought he had put her in her place a long time ago. “Quite possibly a lot of murders. I found a notebook that had a lot of names written down, people who had died. There were numbers next to them that I thought were dates at first. Turned out to be a code that was created by the Campbell Coven and Rachel took it to decipher it. We've written down what it actually means.” He handed the book over to Gabe.
Gabriel opened it and flicked through it, shaking his head and then nodding it as he went through it. Eventually, he closed it and handed it back. “Well, that's just bloody great. I knew about the earlier ones, I told her off. I said that if she didn't behave, I would put her down for good. Seems like she's managed to find trouble for herself once more. It's hard to discipline the mother of demons unfortunately.” His eyes flickered red momentarily. James was quick to notice that change in him, even if it was only a few seconds before they went back to his normal colour. “The problem is that we have no idea where she is, or even where to look.” James said and Gabe nodded, “She's very good at hiding in plain sight to most, but not to me. However, as I've not exactly been looking for her, then I wasn't aware she was around. I'll have to do a sweep of the town to see if I can locate her.” James gave a nod of his head, thankful that they were going to have his help. Maybe he wasn't so bad just like Rachel had said.
He had finished his coffee by now, “So, will you need my help?” Being the sheriff, he was the one that was supposed to be looking out for everyone in town. “Leave it with me for now, I'll call on you if I need help.” James nodded, “Fair enough.” He made to stand up to leave, when Gabe spoke again. “So, I can tell that you're not human either. Not sure what, as I'm only used to demon and angel scent and you're neither of those.” James wasn't sure if he should tell him, but what if he didn't and he got annoyed at him? “I'm fae apparently. Wasn't overly impressed with it, I mean a fairy, all I know about those are the ones that you are supposed to find at the bottom of your garden, with fairy rings and all that rubbish.” He chuckled, which made Gabe join in. “Yes, well fae are a different species of faerie altogether. It's not even spelled like the fairy you are referring to. You spell it F A E R I E, hence it's Fae for short.” Of course he had to know a lot about the supernatural species around here. “Right, still not impressed and all I know I can do is read thoughts and not sure I even like that.” Gabe laughed, “It's about time you opened up to what you are James. The Fae can be very strong creatures. Reading minds is a very handy thing for a sheriff, for someone who works in the law. You'll always be able to tell when someone is lying, a bit like myself. Don't knock it.” James hadn't really thought about it like that, it could help with cases, when someone was saying that they hadn't done it, when they were thinking the exact opposite.
“I guess you have a point. I just need to get used to it. My daughter Rori is Fae Witch.” He smiled a little, starting to feel a bit more comfortable about all the supernatural stuff he and Rori had found themselves a part of. “Really? Which witch line is she from?” Getting more comfortable, he decided to just tell him. “Campbell. Her mother was a Campbell, but she died when she gave birth to Rori, I have raised her single handedly.” Gabe's eyes opened wide, realising that James's daughter belonged to one of the strongest line of witches he had ever known. “A Campbell, well I never. Hasn't been one of them in Pandora for a long time. I had an alliance with the Campbell Coven, until they left Pandora of course. Maybe I will have one again with your daughter.” This made James's hackles go up, “She's only eighteen you know, what do you mean by alliance?” He wanted to make sure that Lucifer wasn't going to lead his daughter astray or use her for his own benefit. “When you come from a strong Wiccan line, age makes no difference. I mean that we had lots of agreements about how the town is run. They helped me with different things and in turn I protected them, to make sure that they would come to no harm. Your daughter would not be in danger, she would be protected.” James still wasn't sure, this was the devil he was talking to after all. But the idea of Rori having extra protection in a town like this, was not to be sniffed at. “I think only Rori can really answer this, but as she's not quite yet an adult, any meeting that you are to have, I want to be there until I can trust you more.” Gabe smiled brightly and slapped his hands together, “Wonderful, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to meet this new generation of the Campbell Coven.”
James smiled a little, “Well, it would seem that she is taken with this place, so I'm sure she'll be only too happy to meet you. So what are some of the things that you had an alliance on with the witches?” He asked, getting more and more comfortable with him, Gabe tilted his head to the side and smirked, “Well, that would be telling, I will give one thing though, because I am that kind of devil, have you tried to leave Pandora since you arrived?”
Well, I'll be damned, thought James. You couldn't have gotten a bigger clue than that. It meant that Lucifer knew about the whole issue of not being able to leave Pandora. Or maybe it wasn't that he knew, but that he had helped the witches to create it. “I have as it happens. It was Rori and Jake that came across a scroll when they were exploring the house. So we all went to test it out. None of us could get through apart from Rori and then I later found out that Nick could also get through. Can't talk for many of the other residents, but there has to be a reason why my daughter and Nick could leave.” James said, with a slight frustration to his voice. “I mean I got knocked back so harshly I ended up with a gash on the back of my head.” He added and put his hand automatically to the area in question.
Gabe grinned and clapped his hands together, “Well, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. Your daughter can leave because she is a Campbell, and any witch can leave to be fair. Nick can leave because, well, I can leave and he's my son.” James hadn't even given it a thought that Nick was the son of the devil. Yet his daughter had been hanging around with him. Seeing the evident worry on James's face, Gabe put his hand up, “Nick is not the Anti-Christ, he has no intention to do bad things or end the world. He is very misunderstood.” This made James relax a little, after all, he was sat here talking to the devil himself and so far he hadn't done or said anything to make him worry about being here.
“Right, so any witch can leave and that includes my daughter, and you and your son can leave. Can I ask why that decision was made? The scroll mentions something about keeping the outside safe from the people inside. None of the residents I have spoken to so far have been what I would say, evil.” If anybody was going to know about bad people in Pandora, it surely had to be the devil? Wasn't he the ruler of all things evil? The king of hell? Gabe tilted his head to the side and smirked, “The community does have a strong contingent of safe people, but it also has its dangerous ones too. A lot of the residents, some of whom were my demons, were leaving and causing a lot of chaos outside Pandora. So, since some of my demons were involved, it was up to me to agree to the spell being put in place. I did. I felt it was for the best, here I can keep a better watch on them.” Gabe realised it probably wasn't what James would be expecting to hear. For the devil he really wasn't that bad a person. All he wanted to do was to punish bad people and didn't normal people even want that to happen?
James took that in and slowly nodded his head, as much as he found it frustrating that most of the residents couldn't leave, he also understood it. “I get it, but I have family outside Pandora, like I am sure many do. Wouldn't they like to be able to visit them, like I would like to?” He asked, trying to work out what would happen in that situation. Gabe smiled a little, “Most of the residents here either don't have family, or they are already here. You're an exception it would seem. However, I am sure your daughter would be able to amend the spell to allow you to be able to leave if you wish to do so, or anyone else close to her.” James knew that if he were to tell Rori that, she wouldn't just want to sort it for a few to leave, she'd want to get rid of it completely and that could get her in trouble with the devil. He didn't want that for her. “How about just breaking the spell altogether? Make people aware that should they cause trouble outwith Pandora, there will be severe consequences? Get hunters in to watch over the rogue residents and put them down if necessary. After all, in essence, we're being held in a prison.” James had no intention in sugar coating anything. That's exactly what it was, a prison for the supernatural people.
Gabe thought about this request, but without the agreement of the oldest Campbell witch, he couldn't say yes to it. He shrugged a little, “It's out of my hands. It's not just down to me.” Well, he wasn't expecting Lucifer to be so reasonable about it, his eyebrow raised and he looked quite puzzled, “I wasn't even sure you'd contemplate it.” James said and Gabe chuckled a little, “My friend, if I can be so bold to class you as that, that spell has been in place for a very long time. It's probably time it was broken, things have been much quieter around Pandora recently.” That was true, but of course James had brought up Lilith and if she had managed to somehow come back and living incognito in Pandora, then there was no way the gates could be allowed to open until she was taken care of. “There is only one exception, we can't ask about changing it, until we take care of Lilith, because if she is here in Pandora, and she finds out she can leave, hell will be unleashed, I can assure you.” Gabe's eyes flickered red again and James could tell that he was being serious. “Fair enough. I better let Rori know not to go look too deeply into ending the spell, as she had been talking about it.” Gabe shook his head and waggled his finger, “No, she can't, you must instil that in her. She needs to wait until we have taken care of Lilith. Plus if she does it without the eldest Campbell's approval, they will come down hard on her and you don't want that.” No, he definitely didn't Rori getting caught up in a big mess. He nodded, “I'll make sure she holds off, I promise.”
Though he had never really demanded that she did anything. Rori had her own mind and he had never wanted to be that strict father, especially since she had no mother. After all, if he were to get very mad at her, which parent did she have to run to to console her? He had to be both mom and dad to her and he felt he had done a great job of it. Gabe smiled, “That's good. Trust me, once we take care of Lilith, we can revisit the idea of opening up Pandora once more, right now however, it has to stay very much closed.” It almost made James wonder just how evil this Lilith was. He had never been as into the supernatural and occult like Rori had been. She's be all up in it no doubt. Deciding to change the topic and turn it a bit lighter, or he hoped it would, James had to ask, “Why have you used the name Gabriel? Isn't that a bit, well, weird seeing how Gabriel Angel was the good one out of the both of you?” Gabe chuckled, “Yes, quite ironic, however, it's hardly my fault that the body I took over just happened to have the name Gabriel, is it? I did find it rather funny when I looked at his credentials.” He smirked, it was a wonder that his brother Gabriel hadn't come down to give him a peace of his mind, but again, not like he had planned it.
Feeling like he had gotten all he was going to get from the conversation now, James stood up, “Well, I best be going. Thank you for the information and I promise to talk to Rori, I need to let her know your interest in meeting her anyway.” Gabe stood up and shook James's hand, “Very well, it is good to finally meet the new sheriff. Please do tell me when you require my help, it's been quite some time since I had to get Lilith put onto a tight leash, it will be fun to do it again.” James had to chuckle at that a little and began to leave, and Gabe walked him to the door. He opened it and then stood in the doorway, not being able to resist, “So, James, tell me what it is that you truly desire?” He didn't use this on many people any more, but he wanted to know that James was going to be a good fit for Pandora.
James feeling like he had no choice but to reply, said, “To keep my daughter safe and to make sure that Pandora stays trouble free.” Gabe nodded and smiled brightly, “That's exactly what I wanted to hear. You're going to be good for us. Now, don't forget to call me, and you will, as you will need my help with this one.” James was more than certain that he would need Gabe's help with Lilith, but he had to get John and Rachel up to speed first and then he had to talk to Rori about holding off on trying to figure out a way to break that spell, not until they had managed to get a hold of Lilith.
Location of Thread: Hanaway Home Characters Involved: James Hanaway, John McCoy & Rachel Evans Played By: Josh Holloway, Karl Urban & Elizabeth Mitchell
After James had spoken to Gabe/Lucifer, he contacted both John and Rachel and asked them to meet him at his home, so that he could tell them what he had found out. It was too late to call back to the station, hence calling the meeting at home instead. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Rori yet, as she had been spending some time with Jake. He would talk to her when she got home, and preferably after John and Rachel had left, so that he would have privacy to do so. However, at the moment, he was sat across from his work colleagues, getting ready to fill them in.
“So, I had a rather enlightening talk to Gabriel, he didn't hold back on letting me know that he was part of the reason for the Community to be closed to most of us being able to leave. Apparently the Campbell Coven of witches were getting really annoyed at his demons causing trouble and giving the town a bad name. Not that he said it in those words, but that's what I got from it. So he agreed to the Campbell Coven creating a spell that stopped all supernatural people from leaving, apart from witches, so that's why Rori can leave. Oh and of course he himself can leave as he agreed to it and that also explains why his son Nick also can leave.” He did have to wonder how they would take it. He himself hadn't been overly impressed, as he had family outside Pandora, but if the oldest Campbell witch would agree to the spell being broken or altered, then he might be able to leave after all.
John frowned and rubbed at his neck with his hand, “So, he's the reason, just great, no chance of getting it broken then, as he seldom backs down on anything.” Rachel was still taking everything in and so she hadn't said anything yet. However, the fact that Lucifer had agreed to such a spell, could only mean that there was a very strong valid reason for it. “I'm assuming it was for the best of Pandora, when you say that his demons were causing trouble, do you mean outside of Pandora?” Rachel asked, and James nodded. “That's exactly what he told me, that they were leaving and causing trouble outside. He agreed to it, as that way he could keep an eye on them and make sure they were staying trouble free.” John chuckled a bit, “Yeah, like that has made a whole lot of difference, now they just make trouble here instead. Whitney!” He was still wounded at the fact his ex had tried to say that he was the one that had done the killings. She was a demon and she was forever causing trouble in Pandora. James sighed, “Yes, well, he didn't say that it was trouble free here, just that he could watch them more closely and that makes me think it wasn't a completely bad idea.” Even if it did mean that just now he wasn't able to get to see his sister or her family. But hopefully that would change soon. In fact, he might even contact her to see if she wanted to move here, after all, if he was Fae, then she had to be too, surely? How was it then, that none of them were aware of it? He certainly hadn't been and his sister had never said anything to him about it either.
This just got John all the more wound up, “Well, he's not watching closely enough, is he? Surely he'd have realised what that bitch was up to and put a stop to it.” He spat out and Rachel sighed, “Just because he's keeping a watch out, doesn't mean that he knows everything that everybody is doing. Trouble with his demons, means them killing people.” At least that was her take on his demons causing trouble. Killing people was a definite no. Gabe would send them straight to hell, if not vanquish them, as a fallen angel, he had the power to do that. James spoke up again, “Well, I asked about it because I have family outside of Pandora, and he agreed that after we take care of Lilith, he will approach the oldest Campbell witch about getting the spell broken. I need to tell Rori not to do anything about it, as I'm sure that she intended to find a way to break it. Also Gabe wants to talk to her, as she is the only Campbell witch in Pandora now. Think he is hoping that he can have the same alliance with her as he had with the previous Campbell witches who have since left Pandora.” John looked up at this, and raised his eyebrow, “And you're happy about that? Rori is only what? Seventeen, or something, she's a bit young for that.” Rachel intervened again, “Don't assume, let James explain,then turning to James she added, “Carry on.” So James did that. “I said that so long as I could be at the meetings until I fully trusted him, then I would be happy for it. He agreed to that. It's like Rachel said earlier, he's really not all that bad. I expected him to be really awful to talk to, evil in fact.” He had been pleasantly surprised. The only thing that spooked him a little, was when he asked what it was he truly desired and he found himself telling him, even though he hadn't wanted to say a word. It was like it had been pulled out of him. But he hadn't felt uneasy.
“The main thing here is though, does he know where Lilith is?” Asked Rachel and James shook his head, frowning, “Unfortunately no, he says he can't sense her, but that he is more than happy to help us locate her. He's talking about putting her down for good this time. Not the first time she's caused trouble and he had her locked away. She must have managed to get out somehow.” John thought about that and realised what must have happened. “She must have some cloaking spell. We might never find her.” Always the pessimist thought Rachel, shaking her head and sighing.
“For the love of god John, why do you always have to be so down about everything. How many witches do we have in the town? And now we have one of the strongest witches in our midst, it shouldn't be that difficult to get the cloak removed if she has indeed got one.” James had to love the way that Rachel always seemed to see the bright side of things. If it wasn't for her, he figured that it would all be doom and gloom. “Yeah, I'm sure Sam and Rori working together, might be able to see if there is someone or a few people walking around with a cloak on them and then they can try to break it.” Of course he only mentioned Sam as she was the only witch he knew of, other than his daughter. Plus, he had a bit of a soft spot for Sam, he couldn't deny it. “So, when are you going to talk to Rori then James?” Rachel asked, smiling across at him, she still really liked him, and was a bit sorry that he seemed to prefer Sam over her. “Later tonight when she is back from her date with Jake. She is a mature girl, and can be quite strong willed, so not sure she will do as I ask, but I will definitely explain it to her.” Now it was John who spoke up, irritated again. “So you're saying that Rori might try to break the spell anyway, without consent from the oldest Campbell witch? Christ, we'll have anarchy if she does that.” He got up and started pacing, he wasn't really angry at James or even his daughter, just the whole sorry situation.
Rachel got up and put her hand on his shoulder, “Will you stop throwing your toys out of the pram John. You need to calm down and stop letting your wolf rage take over. James said he will talk to Rori, she seems a sensible girl to me, I'm sure if her father asks her not to pursue anything until we stop Lilith, she will do as she is told.” James smiled, he was enjoying the way that Rachel was doing what she could to have John keep his cool and that in a way, she was also sticking up for him. He liked it, if nothing else, he could see a good friendship forming between them, because his heart definitely lay elsewhere. “Thanks Rachel, Rori is a clever girl, even if she is also strong willed as I say, I am sure she will do the right thing.” John sat back down again, realising that maybe he was letting his wolf anger take over him a little too much. “So, where do we go from here then? I mean if we don't even know which body she has taken over, it could literally be anyone in the town.” Glancing over to Rachel out the side of his eye, “It could even be you.” He was half teasing and half serious. She retorted back, “Or you, who says she would take over a female body? To fox everyone she might take over a male.” James pursed his lips and nodded, that was a very valid point. “You might be right about that. Anyway, Gabriel is all on board to help us, we just need to say when. But I think I might talk to Sam and Rori about trying to see if there is someone walking around with a cloaking spell, if that is something that they can even do.” Rachel smiled and nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Not much we can do until we know if she has a cloaking spell on her or not then. I think that we should make it clear to the residents that we have Lilith walking among us and to be extra vigilant. That might even draw her out.”
Rachel had a good idea, though if this Lilith was as clever as everyone was making her out to be, then the chances were that it wouldn't bring her out at all. If anything, it might make her try to cloak herself even further. “I do think that the residents need to know about her, yes. Whether it brings her out is another matter. If she wants to carry on trying to kill people, she might not want to come out, as it were.” John nodded, “That's what I think. Anyway, not much we can until you have spoken to Rori and Sam. At least we know that we're dealing with Lilith, unless we have someone else out there killing people as well.” That was true, there was nothing to say that Lilith was the only one. “True, but I think we need to concentrate on her for now. Since she's the mother of demons, there is nothing to say that they won't start bending to her every whim. Lucifer or Gabriel might be the king of hell, but he is not a demon, he's an angel, so pretty sure that they will listen to her over him if I'm not mistaken.” James said, frowning and sighing. This wasn't going to be easy at all. John nodded, “Yeah, worse luck. Right, well, we will leave you in peace, I am sure that Rori will be home soon and you don't want us here when you talk to her.” With that he stood up and made his way to the door, with Rachel following behind, but not before she turned to say to James, “Thanks for going to Gabe and finding this out for us.” James smiled, “No problem, was good to meet him.” He walked to see them out of the door and then made his way back to the lounge to wait for Rori to return home to talk to her about Gabe.
About half an hour after John and Rachel had left, Rori had arrived home. Not that he was a snooper of course, but clearly she had the outside door open and as the lounge was too, he could hear her saying goodnight to Jake. He loved how he always made sure she got home safe. There was something about that lad that James just admired. It was almost like his daughter had her very own protector. Not that he couldn't look out for her himself, but he could be busy with work and even more so with whatever was going on in Pandora.
They had a good relationship, more like best friends, than father and daughter, therefore, he was always teasing the life out of her. This was no different. When she walked into the lounge, clearly on a cloud, he winked, “The goodnight kissing is getting longer and longer, you ain't gonna have any lips left soon.” Rori flopped onto the sofa opposite him and sighed, rolling her eyes. “Oh my god, will you stop. I love you but you are sooooo embarrassing.” However, hiding her face behind her hands she began to giggle. She couldn't help it, but she was definitely walking on air with Jake in her life. He was a really good friend, and she was pretty sure that when he had mentioned about soul mates, with the imprinting, she was sure that might very well be the case. She already couldn't think of life without him in it.
James then sat forward and Rori could tell that this was his serious stance, which meant he had something important to tell her. “What is it dad?” She asked looking worried, she hoped it was nothing to do with Jake, as she was sure that he liked him. In fact, she knew that he did, because she had read his thoughts a few times now, by accident of course. She was still learning how to control that. James sighed, how did he go about this? Just tell her outright that she wasn't to muck about trying to change the spell on the town? Or tell her that he had met and spoken with Lucifer? He decided on the latter. “I met Gabriel Preston for the first time today. He's actually Lucifer, the fallen angel. He played a part in the spell on the town. He explained that it was created by the Campbell Coven but that he had agreed to it. His demons were running amok and causing a lot of trouble outside of Pandora. So he had agreed that it was for the best. This apparently happened a long time ago, back in the days of your great-grandmother Georgina. He says that it might be time to change it, but not before we deal with something huge and not before he talks to the head Campbell witch.”
He wasn't sure how Rori was taking it, as it was difficult to read her expressions. However, Rori was actually quite stunned, that her dad spoke of Lucifer so matter of factly. Of course that meant that he had been talking to Nick's biological father and Nick wasn't a bad person. “I see. So if it was created by a Campbell, I should be able to break it or change it?” James nodded, but he put his hand up, “Yes, you should, but we have a massive problem to deal with just now. The mother of demons, Lilith is running loose in Pandora and we have to deal with that first. Gabriel says that if she gets out, hell will literally be unleashed.” Well, that was a bummer thought Rori. She had been really looking forward to talking to Sam about it all and trying to work on a way to break it. Maybe she could just go ahead and do it, she'd like to be able to visit her family and she knew that her dad did too. However, before she could say anything, James spoke again. “No, please don't go against Gabriel's wishes Rori, it could get dangerous for you. Sorry kiddo, heard your thoughts.” He shrugged a little and gave her a slight apologetic look. He was still getting to grips with this power of his. Sometimes he felt as though he was a normal human as he couldn't seem to do anything that he was supposed to and then out of the blue for no reason, he could pick up certain thoughts from people. Maybe it was because he hadn't fully accepted what he was yet, where as clearly Rori had.
Now it was Rori's turn to talk to him, only this time, she didn't speak aloud, she pushed the thoughts into her father's head. “Dad, I have accepted what I am. You should too. Being Fae, it's actually kind of cool. The things you can do, like talking without words, like this and being able to throw white balls of energy. You need to learn to accept it.” James was shocked that she had been able to do that. How had she done that, how had she spoken to him without actually saying something. She had just told him that he had to accept what he was, so if he did, did that mean he could answer her back like that? So he tried, “I'll do my best to learn to accept it, it's just going to take time is all. Now, can we please talk properly again, please?” Rori smiled and nodded, “Sure. Talk properly. Okay, I'll hold off on doing anything with the spell, but since we don't even know where the talisman is right now, can I at least talk to Sam about maybe searching for it, so that when the time is right to try and change or break it, we know where it is?” James thought about that for a few seconds, really it wasn't up to him to say that was okay. It was really up to Gabriel. But since he was still to talk to her about Gabriel wanting to meet with her, he might as well explain.
So he tilted his head to the side, “To be honest. I'm not completely sure that would be safe enough. However, Gabriel wants to meet with you. He had an alliance with the Campbell Coven before they took off and left Pandora and he wants to know if he can have that with you. I told him that until you were old enough and I trusted him, that I had to be there whenever you met with him. It's up to you if you want to do that though. But it could be the perfect opportunity to ask him if it would be okay for you to at least try to find the talisman, he might even know where it is. You just don't know.” Well, she hadn't expected that. Was she ready to meet the devil himself? Sure, Nick was nice enough, and he was Lucifer's blood, but this was meeting the devil himself. Though to be fair, her father didn't seem to be too fazed by his meeting with him. “Yeah, okay. I'll meet him, sure. Why not. Then I can ask him if it's alright for Sam and I to go on a search for it at the very least. We don't even have a clue where it would be. I'd like to think that it was in the basement, but I actually think that might be too obvious.” She giggled a little. James smiled and shook his head, “Yes, probably. I'll arrange a meeting with Gabriel for you then, and like I say, especially for the first time, so long as I am there also.” Rori smiled and nodded. “That's fine. I completely understand and I'd be happier with you there anyway. So, have you got any other gossip for me from talking to the devil?” She grinned, it was amazing, she was basically living her dream. Of all the books she had read and shows she had watched about the supernatural and now here she was, one of them. It was so exciting. However, James shook his head, “No, sorry, nothing else. Gabriel sounded okay to be honest, though I did make a jibe about him using his good brother's name when he was actually the devil. He said that he found it funny himself, but it wasn't his fault the body he took over happened to have that name. Suppose he has a point. So, how was the date, or is it too embarrassing to talk to your old pa about?” He chuckled, and once more Rori's face went a lovely shade of tomato red.
She shook her head, “Well, I'm sure you don't want every single detail, but it was good. We went to the cinema, watched a re-run of Fifty Shades of Grey, gave us some awesome ideas.” She was of course teasing the life out of him and the look on his face was a picture. He raised his eyebrow and then said, “You're right, I don't want to know, you can keep that to yourself. Those books are fucking awful by the way. Right, I'm off to bed, see you in the morning sweetheart.” When he bent over to kiss her on the cheek, she clung to him in a hug, and whispered, “Just kidding about the movie, it was Disney Cinderella, I'm not that kind of girl daddy.” He broke out of the embrace and shook his head grinning, but took her hands in his own, “I know you aren't, you're my little angel. Anyway, sweet dreams.” He gave her one final hug and he made his way to his bedroom as did Rori herself.
