“Well, this is what it looks like.” Sarah said. “Pretty awful, isn’t it?”

The person lay on the path. He was almost unharmed, save for the massive hole in his chest. Like he’d been impaled by a baseball bat. But though the hole broke through his whole body, it wasn’t bleeding at all. It was like the wound was cauterized, the skin and flesh sealed shut by immense heat.

“Yep. 911. Ambulance. Yeah. Let me give you the coordinates.” After a few more moments, Sarah hung up and knelt before him to check his wound. “Calm down. You’ll be alright, okay? I’ve called for help.” Then she held out her finger. And licked it.

“Um, Sarah—”

“Shhh...” She pressed her finger against his lip. “I’ll explain later, Quinn. Okay, I’m going to go now.”

If the man could respond, he didn’t show any sign of it.

“Come on.” She headed down the trail, her flashlight lighting the way. I followed behind. “This way.” She turned off the path again, into the brush.

“Why did you lick your finger?” I asked.

“Look, the genetic powers inherited as an angel can be... eclectic, okay?”

“Genetic powers?”

“Your Imago... that’s only one part of the powers, Quinn. Your DNA is being adapted and fused with your symbiotes. You will perhaps manifest some... oddities because of that. As for me, one of those things is anaesthetic saliva. Just like Simulium herself. Although for her, it’s to drink blood without getting noticed.” She chuckled to herself. “I’m glad I’m not a vampire... yet.”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. “So hold on, we’re like, slowly turning into insects? At a genetic level?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s normal. Angels all go through it. It’s nothing to be afraid of. Just think of it as a little upgrade.” Her strides were so long.

“Vespa, is this really that normal?”

“Oh, is this a surprise? Perhaps I should’ve made it clearer.”

“You’re replacing me with...”

“No, not replacing. Completing you. It’s how you’re meant to be, as an angel. As my host. It’s the power that’s yours by birthright.”

“It’s not going to overwrite my humanity?”

“Well, I can’t promise that.”

“That’s a joke, right Vespa? Vespa?”

“Quiet,” said Sarah. “I hear it.”

I heard it too. Footsteps through the undergrowth. Heavy. Crunching branches and leaves underfoot. It must have been big. Really big. But despite its size, it was nowhere to be seen. We turned our flashlights off.

“Transform,” she said. “Now.” I heard the characteristic crackle of her transformation, the membranes forming over her skin, her bones and flesh dissolving and her Imago standing its its place. Sarah’s Imago was black all over, with a blood-red visor taking up the majority of her head

I changed to my Imago, too. With Vespa nearby, it went somewhat smoother. Hadn’t Nep said something about that? A shell crystallized around me, pneumatic muscles reforming underneath. Orange and black. Not quite the low-key outfit.

It was getting closer. What was it? It certainly couldn’t have been the dog-like Echo from before. Nor was it the pigeons. Not with an injury like that.

Cracking. The tree before us cracked horribly, splitting at the stump and falling towards us. It crashed between us, twigs and branches flying into the air and raining down upon us. Sarah and I both barely avoided the debris. Our eyes were turned to the stump, where it stood. Nearly seven feet tall, and black. A huge, hulking beast, crowned with two pairs of curved, pointed horns that glowed like hot metal.

“A different Echo,” I muttered.

“There is a source for all of the Echoes showing up at this location,” said Vespa.

“A demon?”

“Yes.”

It lowered its head and charged. Its hoofbeats thundered across the ground, moving with impressive speed for something that large. We stepped aside just in time, its horns kissing the air between us.

I drew my glaive, the blade slipping easily now out from my palm and into my hand. When had it gotten so light and easy? One hand at the base, another at the neck of the blade, ready to slash with the sharp edge and tear with the serrated.

Sarah’s weapon materialized as well, an oversized pair of scissors with blades the size of longswords, like out of some anime. “Stand back, kiddo,” she said. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can handle myself.”

“Are you sure? This thing is really dangerous.” It was turning around, now, readying for a second charge. Sarah gripped the handles one the scissors one in each hand, opening the blades wide. The instant it passed us, she let go with one hand and swung the pair up, blades closing around its neck and scraping along its side, cutting a deep gash into the Echo’s skin. The red liquid dripped from it, caustic toxins burning the leaves and twigs as they fell onto the ground.

The creature bellowed, writhing in something resembling pain. But Echoes couldn’t feel pain, only replicate the actions of creatures that did. Sarah kept shining her flashlight in its eyes, keeping all attention on her. I felt invisible, and I was glad for it.

Unlike my last encounter, this Echo was much to big to overpower like Heidi had, instead, with each charge, Sarah snipped away at its skin, weaving around its clumsy attacks with ease and counterattacking with deadly precision. Like a surgeon. Given she worked at the hospital, maybe she was a surgeon.

I probably should’ve asked.

Suddenly, the Echo stopped attacking her. Instead, it turned to run. She pursued it, but on foot she couldn’t outrun it, and the trees were too dense for her to fly. She—

Hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me up into the trees. A little girl, maybe nine or ten years old, stared back at me. A girl wearing a perfectly-tailored purple suit. She smiled. Just a bit too wide. Alarm bells were already going off in my head, but Vespa confirmed my suspicious.

“Demon.”

“Hello, Quinn.” Her voice was unnaturally deep, that of a woman far older than her appearance might suggest. “Let’s have a little chat, shall we? Alone.” She flicked Vespa off my shoulder and raced through the treetops, dragging me through the branches behind her.