I burst into Sanctuaray 73, hurrying upstairs and knocking on Nep’s door. She wasn’t here. But the others were. Sarah peeked her head out of her room, yawning. She must’ve been asleep after a long shift last night. Angelina was actually home for once, hurrying down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I need to talk to Nep.”

“Well hold on,” said Sarah, coming up behind me and putting an arm around my shoulder. “What exactly do you need to talk to Nep about?”

“I.. there’s demons and they’re saying... planning to...”

“Calm down,” said Vespa. “Explain.”

“What are we?” I asked.

“Pardon?” said Heidi.

“Like, what are we defending? What are we protecting? The demons are saying that we’re like... imprisoned on the earth. That they’re trying to liberate us. That they want to bring us to paradise and—”

“Lies,” Heidi interrupted. “It’s as simple as that. Where have you been hearing this?”

“But—”

“No buts.” Heidi stepped closer. “You give them an inch and they’ll take a mile, Quinn. Don’t even talk to them? Where have you been talking to them? How have we not known this?”

“Back, Heidi,” said Sarah. “Your scaring her. Poor girl.” She patted me on the head. “Don’t let their lies trouble you.”

“Stop it.” I knocked her hand away. “I’m not a kid. You don’t need to humour me. Just tell me the truth.”

“This is the truth,” said Sarah. “I mean, just look at the names. We’re angels. They’re demons. They’re bad. We’re good. It’s as simple as that. Don’t you see? Demons will say whatever they want to get their way, Quinn. I’m worried about you. Worried that you’ve gotten caught up with demons.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing, leaving at night?” Heidi asked. “I can’t believe we let you just go and meet with—”

I stepped back. “Hold on! I never said I was meeting with demons. I just.. have questions. I’ve overheard things about them.”

“Well, have you been meeting with a demon?” Angelina asked, tapping her feet expectantly as she leaned against the wall. “Hmm?”

I looked away. “Well...”

“Knew it,” she said.

“Well, why should I just take your word for it that everything they say is evil? You know, she says the same stuff about you, about angels. That everything is just misleading. That you don’t care about peoples’ well-being. That you wouldn’t let them... ‘free’ everyone, whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“You’ll just have to take our word for it,” said Angelina. “I don’t know what you want me to say. What can we prove? What can they prove? What do you want from us?”

“I—” I didn’t know the answer.

“Who is it?” asked Heidi. “What’s the demon’s name?”

She warned about this, didn’t she? If anyone found out... “What are you going to do to her? What are you going to do to me?”

”See, Heidi? She’s getting scared,” said Sarah. “Don’t worry, Quinn. We’re just concerned because we understand demons a lot better than you do. We’ve been doing this for longer. We know their tricks and things. That’s all. We want to keep you safe from them.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t say her name.”

“Thea.” Nep’s voice. She stood in the doorway, completely unrecognizable. I’d never seen her Imago before. Not clearly. “The demon’s name is Thea.” Her body was draped in sand-coloured fabric, a cape almost dragging on the ground behind her. “She is... of major concern to us. But not immediately. Ecto is a greater danger right now.” Her body was glistening and bronze, fingers tipped with long claws and gripping a long, elegant scythe. Her head was a helmet, two black eyes inset in it. A pair of enormous arms reached out from her shoulders, tipped with serrated blades the length of my arms. “Quinn, tell me what you know.”

“Your Imago,” said Sarah.

“Sorry.” Her shell thinned and cracked partially, revealing her human face underneath. “Is that better?”

“You... you know.”

Nep rolled her eyes. “Of course I know. That’s my job. To know things. But you know something that’s happening soon, don’t you?”

“Yes. But—”

“Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to talk with Thea, still,” said Nep.

Heidi stepped forward. “Hold on—“

“Quiet, Heidi. I’ve talked this through with Vespa and Laccotrephes. It’s fine. Knowing the enemy is important, right? The questions are natural, and it’s rather interesting to talk to the demons. That’s all fine. You’re a lot like me, Quinn. So full of questions and curiosity. As a scientist, I can’t fault you for asking questions and looking for answers.”

“I—“

“But, I need you to trust us. I need you trust me.” Nep continued. “Thea thinks that you are weak and easy to manipulate. I want you to prove her wrong, okay? Be on guard. And please, tell us everything you know.”

I took a deep breath. “There’s a new Echo coming. One much bigger than the ones we’ve seen so far. It’s going to emerge soon. Ecto wants to use it to ‘liberate’ everyone in the area. Whatever that means.”

“How big?” asked Nep. “What qualities did it have?”

“I’m not sure. It seemed really, really big, though. Like whale-sized? It was long and flexible, but I couldn’t see much. They have like... a nursery at—”

“At Boundary Bay,” Nep finished. “Yes. We’re aware. You saw it open?”

“Yes.”

“It’s starting, then,” muttered Nep. “Or at least, he’s going to try to...”

“What’s starting?”

The group exchanged nervous glances. Angelina spoke up. “Something very bad, Quinn. I take it’s my job to hunt down Thea?”

“Hunt down?”

“Relax, kiddo. If I can kill her, she’s not worth talking to anyways.”

Nep nodded. “Go for it, Angelina. Everyone else, come with me. We’re going to fight Ecto head-on. It seems he’s not quite who we thought he was.”

“Wait, I thought—”

“Sorry, kiddo,” said Sarah. “A little white lie never hurt anyone.” Skin crackled, the three of them melting away and reforming into their sleek Imagos. I did the same.

“Stop,” said Vespa. “You’re not coming.”

“What? I’m not—”

“It’s okay,” said Heidi. “We’re taking care of this. You just need to sit tight.”

“You’re grounded,” said Angelina, as the four of them hurried up to the roof before me. They locked the door behind them.