It was impossible not to like them immediately. I had just started explaining my troubles to Trent when the phone rang. It was Lucky. She had met up with Phoenix after an encounter with the vigilante, and they wanted me to come with them and check out Gretchen's old daemon-summoning sites, make sure no one had moved in after her. I didn't really see that as something they needed me for, but couldn't get a word in edgewise before she told me to meet the two of them at Copley Place and hung up. I explained to our guests, who offered to come along. After what had happened the last time, Dawn promised to stay at base, and the three of us flew to the rendezvous. Emily and Trent kept up an amicable, low-grade bickering most of the way.
    I don't think Lucky could figure out which one of them to drool over until it became clear what Trent's main power is, and then she actually blushed. We decided that the three of us would check the place out, and Emily and Trent would back us up if necessary. Personally, I was convinced we were wasting our time, which should have been a signal of the reverse. When we reached the old cavern, Lucky sniffed around for a bit and snarled, "Blaise. He's been here."
    "When?" Talon asked.
    "Not for a couple of days."
    The place was a wreck; no one was going to use it to summon demons without some serious housecleaning. We headed for the exit.
    "What was that?" Phoenix said softly; he had caught the grate of metal on concrete. Then we all heard the crash of a steel door, and the ravens appeared.
    Dumb. We had walked right into it. I put a shield over Phoenix, and Lucky's staff was a flaming blur as we forced our way toward the blocked passage. There were so many birds, they were getting through our defenses anyway, the air was nearly solid with them.
    At the steel barrier, Phoenix set a grenade, and we all backed away again. Trent announced that he and Emily were on their way. The grenade blew a small hole, which Lucky widened rapidly. Phoenix went through first; Blaise garroted him, but he managed to fight his way free. Unfortunately, Blaise is more than a match for him, and he was quickly out of the fight. Since I can't do anything if I can't see my target, I started through the hole, only to realize that the bastard had set a claymore directly underneath me. That was unpleasant, though I managed to shield out most of the explosion's force. Lucky attacked the wall and it took it down the rest of the way.
    Blaise ran away. Lucky and I exchanged a grin and waited.
    A few moments later our winged allies appeared, an immobile Blaise in tow. Emily turned him to stone. Trent soon had Phoenix back in working order, and Lucky called in the folks who had taken care of Gretchen. We were assured that he would be picked up promptly, so we just left him there. It's not as if he could cause any trouble.
    We checked the other two possible sites and found nothing, and then agreed that it was time we all got some sleep. Dawn has taken it upon herself to use her creative powers to redecorate the guest rooms, and there are flowers everywhere. Lucky has asked her for a similar treatment in a Catholic motif. We had three spare people and two rooms, but it turns out that Emily doesn't sleep. Ever. She was doing something with the computer when I finally went to bed. I had just collapsed when someone tapped on my door.
    "What is it?" If it was another crisis, the city could go to hell.
    "Me," Lucky said, cracking open the door.
    "What?"
    "Um. Would you mind if I, sort of, spent the night with you?"
    "Lucky—"
    "Nothing like that. I just, I need some company."
    "Not tonight."
    "I—"
    "I understand," I told her as gently as I could. "I do. But not tonight."
    I kind of regret that, but on the other hand—I know myself. Maybe she needs company to get through her rough spots, but right now I'm barely keeping myself together as it is, I can't deal with other people at the same time. I can't help her, though I keep thinking about what she told me at Chandler's place, and I don't know what to do. She wound up spending the night on Phoenix's floor.
    This morning we were awakened by an absolutely heavenly smell—real coffee, not the barely-drinkable stuff we usually have around. None of us is domestically inclined enough to do much shopping. Emily was in the kitchen, smiling.
    "You guys have quite a set-up here. Anyone want waffles?"
    The rest of the team and I exchanged sleepily confused glances; ordinarily our kitchen is the victim of criminal neglect, populated solely by a thriving colony of take-out containers. "I think we can credit Dawn."

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