All I felt was dread as I climbed out of bed that morning. Tommy had gone at some point in the night. The pillow still smelled of him though I couldn't be sure if it was truly there or my imagination playing tricks on me. My face burned with the memories of the night before and my heart raced as I remembered all the times before.

Thoughts of dancing in St Peter's Square were particularly elating. Humming along to the distant music of the annual gala, jumping around to an upbeat classical song like it was a pop song, sneaking away when we heard the adults coming, and chasing each other around the obelisk and fountains. Two kids, seven and eight years old, dressed to the nines just like the adults we wanted to be.

I thought of the day I walked out of school and Tommy was sitting in the passenger seat of the family car. I remember noticing him first, even before I registered my father sitting in the driver's seat instead of my mom. I thought for sure I was hallucinating until Laura squeezed me in a bone crunching hug.

I let the memories consume me until I was knocked from my thoughts by a caller at the door. Laura was still snoring in the room's other bed when I crept across the cold stone floors to answer the door.

"Good morning, Lia." It was Giovanna at the door. It was only nine in the morning and the poor woman was already back here at work.

"Morning," I smiled at her, "It's time?"

"Yes, Father Ivan is waking the others now."

"Thank you."

I shut the door as Giovanna set off down the hall, her pristine patent leather heels clicking, the echo bouncing around on the stone walls and pillars.

"Laura, time to get up." I shook her shoulder.

"Stop!" she whined as she rolled over

"You stop, we've got to get ready."

"You get ready, it'll only take me a few minutes." she mumbled through her pillow.

I threw a pillow from my bed at her as I got started making my own bed, "Come on, Laura!"

"Géi fort!"

"Since when do you speak Luxembourgish?" I threw another pillow at her and she sat up.

"Since Theo taught me a few words. His grandmother is from Luxembourg." Laura rolled out of bed and onto the floor. She spread out like she was making a snow angel and enjoyed the chill.

"And he's told you to go away?" I laughed.

"No, his sister trained their puppy in with Luxembourgish commands. That's how they tell him to go lay down."

"Nice."

We continued to chat as we made our beds and put on some clean clothes. I'd have to ask Uncle Leo where the laundry room was. I was nearly out of clean clothes.

When we arrived at Uncle Leo's office, the boys were all gathered around a table by the open balcony doors. Light and a soft breeze poured in and I suddenly wished I'd brought shorts. It was warm and humid here compared to England. I wished I could enjoy it.

"Buongiorno, amori," Uncle Leo kissed Laura and I on the cheek and wrapped each of his arms around our shoulders, "Come sit, we have a nice breakfast before we talk business."

Neither Laura or I argued as he guided us to the two empty seats at the table. On one side we sat with Tommy, and the rest of the boys sat across from us.

It seemed too early to me, but there were already so many tourists milling about in the square below us. Their steps and chatter were the perfect white noise for our peaceful breakfast.

It wasn't long after we finished eating the assortment of pastries, jams, fruits, and yogurts, it was time for the talk.

"We're dealing with a nasty type of attachment, it's much stronger than anything a normal person would be able to get rid of." I told the boys.

"Since you all have been around Amelia you will need to be cleansed, but then you will be safe to go home. We will take care of Amelia here separately."

"But you said that Satan the Tempter killed your dad, if it wasn't such a big deal, then how did that-"

"I made a bigger deal of the conversation in the car then I should have." Uncle Leo cut in, "I am sorry if that scared you. Porter, Amelia's father, he was the last person to deal with Satan the Tempter and it drove him to his death. I just prefer my Amelia not be involved with such matters. I made a big deal out of something not so big."

For an hour or two Uncle Leo droned on to the group about Satan the Tempter. He spoke in circles, sometimes switching from English to Italian and having Tommy translate. When the talk was over, I made my apologies, I dressed them up with rambling and tears. I acted dramatic, I acted a little crazy, I let them believe me .

I scratched and gripped my wrists so tightly I was sure I would bleed. Tommy grabbed my hand and held it palm up. He let his eyes fall to my hand as he gently traced the lines on it. I was turning red, maybe even shivering, as the light brushes distracted me.

When the thick, heavy wooden doors of Uncle Leo's office shut behind the boys, I fell down onto one of the sofas. They were going out to see the city, tour the Vatican, and have fun. They'd have a blessing and anointing with oil tomorrow, then they could go home. I, on the other hand, was not going anywhere.

"Lili," Tommy took my hand as he sat beside me, "It's okay."

"No it isn't!"

"Amelia, amore," Uncle Leo gave me a hug, "I'm sorry for getting upset with you yesterday. You know how serious this all is, I just want you to stay safe."

"Then tell me the whole truth." I demanded, "I already know most of it. I know about the eight princes, I know about the watchers, my father kept his notes on everything at home. I've read them all but I can't put all the pieces together like he could. There are things he didn't keep in his notes, things that were common sense to him. Fill in the gaps."

"Amore, I-"

"Answers or I get behind the wheel of a car!"

"Amelia!" Uncle Leo was angry now, "You know better, how could you say something so- so- Dio Mio! Do not talk like that!"

Tommy stood in front of me, between me and Uncle Leo. He knew fighting wasn't going to solve anything, "Lia, before we work on this, I think we should talk about your dad. I know it was a car accident but-"

"'Single car accident. Two wounded, one dead.'" I told him, "That's how the local news described it. 'Operator error' as if he could accidentally hit a button and end up going 60 through a guard rail and roll over into a ditch."

"I'm so sorry, Li."

"I had a concussion. The police had already dragged mom out of the car when I woke up in the backseat. They had a sheet over dad, but the blood on his face was seeping through. They never noticed that it was coming from his eyes. He was crying blood before we crashed.

"We were on the way to the church to get help. Dad insisted on driving. Molly and the others were at Nana's that weekend," at this point the words were just falling out of my mouth, the truth was set free, "He was speaking in tongues, clawing at his throat, crying blood, he couldn't breath. Something had him but I wasn't sure what until I read his notes. It had to be the tempter, there's no way it wasn't."

"The tempter is not one being, Amelia," Uncle Leo was pale as he sat behind his desk, "Each of the 8 Princes is one of Satan's tempters, but they were sealed decades ago. Father Angellucci formed a group to deal with these threats. All eight of them should be...Oh no no no no-"

"Cut the 'no's tell us what's wrong." Laura crossed her arms over her chest and shot Uncle Leo a look. She really hates being out of the loop.

"You know about the watchers, Amelia?" Uncle Leo asked.

"I know of them."

"The watchers are only found in two or three lines of the Book of Daniel. Most people will not even remember reading those lines about them. All other information on them is found in lesser known documents and books that were not included in the Bible. The Books of Enoch tells their story, as does the Book of Giants. There are small mentions of them in the Book of Jubilees, and a reference in the Damascus Document. The most important one for proving their existence is the appearance of the watchers in Mesopotamian stone art.

"The watchers are widely misunderstood," Uncle Leo continued as he rifled through a drawer in his desk, "They are a classification of angels that was once lead by an angel called Shemyaza. They were sent to Earth to watch over humans and their development after Adam and Even left the garden of Eden. For hundred of years they were successful until the fall of the Tower of Babel. With the language barriers, the people split themselves into different countries and moved all over the Earth. Shemyaza was sure that the watchers would continue to do their jobs even if he wasn't there to watch over all of them, but he was gravelly mistaken."

"So they abandoned their posts?" Tommy asked.

"No, an angel called Azazel led a rebellion against Shemyaza and convinced the watchers that they should act on their lust and desire for human women. Shemyaza tried to to stop it, but in the end 200 watchers went to earth, shared forbidden knowledge with humans and had half human, half angel offspring called Nephilim. Havoc was wreaked on the Earth. The slate was wiped clean once before with a flood, but this time God punished the cities where most of the watchers had run off to, Sodom and Gomorrah. He made the watchers see as their women and children were burned to death. The women were human and went quick. Some stories say the Nephilim children were left writhing in pain for hours or even days. Shemyaza begged God on behalf of the watchers for forgiveness. He'd never partaken in fraternizing with humans, but he was held accountable as the leader."

"So they fell like humanity." I said, "They were cast out from the state of eternal grace and from the kingdom of God."

"Yes." Uncle Leo said, "Some of the watchers returned to their jobs. They tried to win God back and gain his forgiveness, but some of the most powerful joined Azazel in cursing God for the death of their spouses and children. There were eight powerful watchers made to oppose the forces of the eight tempters, but most of them sided with Azazel. Over the centuries since, Shemyaza has won back and lost again many of the 8 angels. Last I heard, they were deadlocked. Azazel's two accomplices from the beginning, Gadreel and Asbeel, are still on his side along with Arakiel."

"Arakiel has been one to switch sides many times, he stays with whoever can make the world clearest to him. He has been plagued with confusion since the fall, he is known as 'the angel of distortion'," Father Ivan entered the room, "And the others side with me."

"With you?" I asked him.

"Yes, I apologize for the act in front of your friends, Amelia. I have many names. Most call me, Shemyaza, but friends call me, Azza. It is very nice to meet the daughter of Porter."

"You knew my father?" I asked, "But you don't look much older than me?"

"Immortality, dear," he laughed as he spoke, "Some might call it a blessing, but those who understand call it a curse. A punishment fit for me and my failures."

"So who is on your side then?" I asked.

"Fifty or Sixty of the watchers are on my side, and three of the eight. Though Azazel has numbers on me, he has never tried to start a fight with me. He knows that his forces now could be overwhelmed by my comrades and he knows that were the eight of us to face off, we'd only destroy each other. I have Turiel, the rock of God, Armaros, the cursed one, and Zaqiel, the purity of God. In fits of anger at the loss of their spouses, they rebelled against our lord. All three took Azazel's side in the beginning, but they have come to regret that decision."

"So you are trying to get the others to come back to your side?" Tommy asked.

"No that would be useless. Arakiel is the only one who could be swayed now, the rest of us have resolved to stay on our sides. Because of this, Azazel has been taking steps to ally with darker forces. He knows he is standing on shaky ground and that he may lose Arakiel at any day. Should that happen, we will be able to overwhelm his forces and the lower rank angels will inevitably fall back in line. We will be able to guard humanity from the influence of the devils once again."

"And that was your original mission?" Laura asked.

"When Lucifer fell, he brought his forbidden knowledge with him. He spread it around to the princes and sent them to desecrate the Earth and corrupt humanity. The Watchers were sent to combat them, to guard the humanity, but Azazel facilitated the Princes work and shared his own forbidden knowledge as well."

"Uncle Leo said the princes were sealed away, so what are you doing now? Just fighting Azazel?"

"Yes, I worked with Leo, Father Angellucci, and the rest of the order to seal the princes over 25 years ago. We figured if they were trapped in a few locations, once Azazel was taken care of, we could go back, release, and destroy each of them, one at a time. Humanity would be safe from eight of the ten biggest threats facing them."

"The other two threats being?"

"Lucifer and each other. Upon Lucifer's destruction, a rapture will happen, and the Kingdom of God will find it's way down to Earth. Humanity will return to the state they were meant to be in, before Lucifer corrupted Eve in the garden. That is if they do not destroy themselves first."

"Wait, but if Azazel is trying to get help from darker forces, is he working with Lucifer?" Laura went a bit pale.

"It is more likely that he has found a way to free one of the Princes. None of the guards have reported in that Azazel's forces have approached them, so I fear Porter may have been right."

"What was my father right about now?"

"Porter said he believed one of the Princes escaped and left behind his underling to be sealed. That is what he was investigating when he died." Azza said.

"Amore, I am sorry, I encouraged him to do this. It was I who-"

"No, it was me. I drew in the prince, whichever it may have been. I played with the demonic and it cost my dad his life."

"Amelia," Azza put his hand on my shoulder. Looking into his eyes was terrifying, it send shivers down my spine, but for some reason I couldn't look away, "Your father was going to be attacked whether or not you had played with the demonic. You were a child, you did not know any better. It is no more your fault than it is Leo's. The blame lies solely with me. I failed in my duties once again and it cost your father his life. It almost cost us yours and your mother's lives as well."

"I just want all of this to be over." I huffed and pulled one of my knees up to my chest. I didn't care that my dirty shoes were touching Uncle Leo's pristine cream colored sofa. I just needed something to hang on to. Something to anchor me in this moment so I would stop feeling as though I were dreaming. This was all too crazy to be real.

"We'll get through this together, Li, I promise." Tommy took my hand.

"Okay."

I let Azza and Uncle Leo assure me. I let Tommy comfort me, and I held Laura just at tight as she held me. She was scared, I could tell by the way she trembled in my arms.

"We can do this. We are too strong for them to get us." Laura said.

"We are. We can do this." I repeated back to her like a mantra. I guess we were both liars today.