She wasn't asleep. Even if she'd been in the habit, she was too impatient. Asmodeus was lucky to have caught her inside the hotel at all; she'd been wandering in and out and around the city for the past week, exploring and waiting, always looking over her shoulder for signs of her usual pursuers or peering ahead for a glimpse of the ones she was expecting.
She didn't often stay in one place for so long. It made her uneasy. The hotel room was pleasant enough and did offer a nice view, but being there was dull.
On the other hand, she'd found that having money did simplify things somewhat--no need to expend any power, just hand over the card or a slip of pretty paper and get what you wanted. Perhaps that was why no one had found her yet, which at the moment was a mixed blessing; but if she wasn't using her power, she didn't have to worry that it would run away from her, as it still sometimes did. So, like any unsupervised teenager with her first credit card, she had gone a little overboard, and the suite was littered with books, interesting baubles and pretty clothes that had caught her eye.
The books were what had made the waiting bearable, though they weren't exactly the sorts of books one would expect a young girl to own: not romances, mysteries or dramatic novels, but rather books of history, religion and mythology.
The name Asmodeus hadn't been hard to find. Ellie, on the other hand, or any name from which Ellie might be taken, was much more elusive. At least she did know now what a Principality was, and the significance of the Eastern Gate. Ellie's angel friend was famous (and famously not very good at his job, it seemed.)
She startled a bit when the knock sounded at the door, and set aside the book of fables she'd been reading, approaching the door with caution and trying to get a "feel" for who was on the other side.
Asmodeus. Finally! She opened the door and regarded the daeva silently, having no notion of how to welcome a guest (or a "father." That lie had made her wonder just who her real father might be. Not the Principality, she suspected, but it was possible she might be wrong.)
no subject
She didn't often stay in one place for so long. It made her uneasy. The hotel room was pleasant enough and did offer a nice view, but being there was dull.
On the other hand, she'd found that having money did simplify things somewhat--no need to expend any power, just hand over the card or a slip of pretty paper and get what you wanted. Perhaps that was why no one had found her yet, which at the moment was a mixed blessing; but if she wasn't using her power, she didn't have to worry that it would run away from her, as it still sometimes did. So, like any unsupervised teenager with her first credit card, she had gone a little overboard, and the suite was littered with books, interesting baubles and pretty clothes that had caught her eye.
The books were what had made the waiting bearable, though they weren't exactly the sorts of books one would expect a young girl to own: not romances, mysteries or dramatic novels, but rather books of history, religion and mythology.
The name Asmodeus hadn't been hard to find. Ellie, on the other hand, or any name from which Ellie might be taken, was much more elusive. At least she did know now what a Principality was, and the significance of the Eastern Gate. Ellie's angel friend was famous (and famously not very good at his job, it seemed.)
She startled a bit when the knock sounded at the door, and set aside the book of fables she'd been reading, approaching the door with caution and trying to get a "feel" for who was on the other side.
Asmodeus. Finally! She opened the door and regarded the daeva silently, having no notion of how to welcome a guest (or a "father." That lie had made her wonder just who her real father might be. Not the Principality, she suspected, but it was possible she might be wrong.)