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Chapter Twenty-five

In the odd drea, the water churning to a controlled froth by jets that hit it and les The water was at that perfect teaway aches and pains

It was an odd dream, because I have never in my life been in a hot tub

I opened my eyes and looked slowly around me The hot tub was set in the floor of what looked like a natural cave Low, reddish light ca on the stalactites overhead

That was odd, because I&039;d never been in a cave like this, either

"Hello?" I called My voice bounced around the empty cavern

I heard the sound of ht froe and had hair that fell in a sheet of golden silk to her shoulders She was dressed in a silken tunic belted with soft rope, both pure white The outfit neither displayed any inore the beauty of the body it clothed Her eyes were of a deep, deep blue, like a sunny October sky, and her skin gloholeso creature

"Hello I thought it was time we had a talk," she said "You&039;ve had a hard day I thought pleasant surroundings ht suit you"

I eyed her for a ood The surface of the pool had enough in the way of bubbles and froth to be opaque, which was also good It saved me the embarrassment of olden brows in a faint smile, and seated herself beside the hot tub, on the floor of the cave, her legs together and to one side, her hands folded on her lap "Have you not reasoned it yourself by now?"

I stared at her for a long minute and then said, quietly, "Lasciel"

The woment "Indeed"

"You can&039;t be here," I said "I sealed you into the floor under my lab I imprisoned you"

"Indeed you did," the woman said "What you see here is not my true self, as such Think of me as a reflection of the true Lasciel who resides within your mind"

"As a what?"

"When you chose to touch the coin, you accepted this form of my awareness within you," Lasciel said "I am an imprint A copy"

I sed "You live in my head And you can talk to me?"

"I can now," Lasciel said "Now that you have chosen to employ what I have offered you"

I took in a deep breath "Hellfire I used Hellfire today to eic"

"You made the conscious choice to do so," she said "And as a result, I can now appear to your consciousforward tothan iven to"

"You, uh," I said, "you don&039;t look much like a demon"

"Keep in mind, please, that I was not always a resident of Hell I relocated there" She looked at herself "Shall I add the wings? A harp? A golden halo?"

"Why are you asking uest," she said "It coststo take on an appearance that pleases uest, then get out"

She laughed, and there was nothing alluring or enuine "That isn&039;t possible, I&039; the coin, you invited me in You cannot simply will me away"

"Fine," I said "This is a dream I&039;ll wake up See ya"

I made the simple effort of will required to wakehappened

"Maybe it&039;s the painkillers," Lasciel suggested "And you were, after all, very tired It looks like we&039;ll be spending a little tilared for a while I don&039;t usually take the tis in dreams, either "What do you want?" I said

"To make you an offer," she said

"The answer is no," I said "We now return ularly scheduled dreaain "I think you want to hear me out," she said "This is your dreaone, don&039;t you think you could gested

"I saw that you&039;d never experienced one," Lasciel said She dipped a toe into the pool and smiled "I have, often Do you like it?"

"It&039;s okay," I said, and tried to look like I didn&039;t think it was just about the nicest thing ever for an aching and tired body "You knohat I know, eh?"

"I exist within your mind," she said "I see what you see Feel what you feel I learn what you learn-and quite a bit more besides"

"What is that supposed to reat deal of good," she said "I have the knowledge and memory of two thousand years of life upon this world, and infinite thousands outside it I know s that could be of use to you I can advise you Teach you secrets of your craft never known to hts no hue beyond anything you could ie and power and good advice come for only three easy install?"

The fallen angel arched a golden brow at me

"Or h to saw through a nail, yet still cut toarded me steadily and said, "You aren&039;t nearly as funny as you think you are"

"I had to come up with some kind of response to your offer to corrupt and enslave me Bad jokes seemed perfectly appropriate, because I can only assu"

Lasciel pursed her lips, a thoughtful expression Itabout how soft her mouth looked, for example "Is that what you think I want? A slave?"

"I got a look at how you guys work," I said

"You&039;re referring to Ursiel&039;s previous host, yes?"

"Yes He was insane Broken I&039;ive it a whirl for myself"