Cheekbones Caffrey

Chapter 2: Lady in Black

"The Men of Letters are headquartered at Win-Win?" Henry stared at the phone in disbelief, wishing Neal could see his expression. Henry had called Eric over and put the phone on speaker when Neal said it was urgent. Now he regretted the decision.

"Okay, you had your fun," Henry grumbled. "Since you weren't here on April Fool's Day, I should have realized you'd aim for a surprise prank. This is payback for when I taught you how to drive on the ice by wrecking a car, isn't it?" The worst was he'd fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. Oh, Neal had been clever. Starting off small by insisting a demon had visited him. Abaddon was a nice, esoteric twist. Who'd ever heard of a Knight of Hell? But this was too much.

"Listen to me," Neal pleaded. Damn it but his voice did have the ring of sincerity. Now he was just showing off. "Mozz, you tell him."

"May the ghost of J. Edgar haunt me the rest of my days if I'm lying to you, and you know I wouldn't joke about that. Crowley was here. I saw him. More to the point, I saw him disappear afterward. That's hard to fake."

"And Crowley's convinced Henry's one of the Men of Letters?" Eric asked, watching Henry worriedly. Clearly he believed they were being truthful, even if Henry still had lingering doubts.

"Hard as it is to accept, that's right," Neal said. "But more importantly, Abaddon believes it too. Now she wants to continue the purge, starting with Henry."

"Why didn't you let me know?" Mozzie whined. "A society of scholars who dedicate themselves to combating monsters? I'm a perfect candidate. Don't you trust me?"

"Stop that!" Henry ordered. "There's no secret society at Win-Win."

"Are you sure?" Eric asked quietly. "It wouldn't hurt to ask Noelle or your grandfather."

"Yes, it would!" Henry retorted quickly. "Neither one of them knows anything about the monsters the Winchesters hunt. I've told them about the possible family connection—which is still not proven, by the way—but they think Dean and Sam are freelance investigators." He'd comforted himself that Dean and Sam were quick to approve of his decision. As far as they were concerned, the fewer innocents who knew about them, the better.

"I called you first," Neal said. "Next on my list are the Winchesters and Peter. Please, take this seriously. The threat is real. You need to take precautions, and Win-Win does as well."

Henry nodded absently as unease settled in. "Pops could be targeted too."

"The risk may not be high for them," Neal said. "Crowley said demons have been keeping track of the Winchesters. That's how they found out about you. The family resemblance is undeniable. Since your grandfather hasn't associated with the Winchesters, Abaddon may not know about him."

Small comfort, but Henry was relieved that Dean and Sam had put off meeting Pops despite his many invitations. "So, any clues on what kind of measures I should take against a Knight of Hell?"

"For now, don't go anywhere by yourself," Neal advised. "No walking Splash by yourself at night. I'll get back to you with the Winchesters' recommendations."

Henry shoved a hand through his hair. What a mess. He was in the middle of a case. Win-Win wanted him to travel to Sao Paolo. What was he going to tell them? That he was being stalked by a demon? "Do you know what she looks like?"

"Sorry, I don't. Crowley said she could possess anyone. Generally she prefers a woman, but she could just as easily take on a man's appearance. I know you're frustrated. Just be careful, okay?"

The Next Day. On the Road to New York City.

"You'll let us know if you hear anything else?" Sam asked into the cell phone.