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“Ah,” says Ben, “well, I’m afraid I had to use your cash to pay for them, and I don’t know exactly what you like, but…I think I did fine.” He sets the tongs down and opens my fridge, which looks much better than it did the night before, if not completely full.

I smile, feeling slightly touched. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, it’s all part of my master plan,” he says as he pours a cup of coffee.

“Tell me about this master plan,” I laugh, planting myself in a chair at the counter. He sets the coffee mug in front of me and grabs a bottle of creamer from the fridge.

“Annie,mi amor, come over here,” he calls, and I can’t help but make a face. Ben is definitely friendly and outgoing, but…giving her cutesy nicknames? It turns my stomach a little. He clearly doesn’t understand what she’s capable of. However, she looks just as irritated as me when she stands up and pauses her movie. She’s wearing a huge, white t-shirt that covers most of her body, except her legs, and her mane of auburn hair is tied in a messy bun on top of her head again. She looks like she actually slept, even though I know she didn’t. It’s terrifying how easy it becomes to forget what she is when she looks like that.

“I gave permission for you to shorten my name,Benjamin,” she snaps, “but only because you are apparently the only human in this city who might be able to find us an exorcist. I didnotgive permission for this other epithet you have used.”

“You’ll get over it, darling,” Ben says, beaming at her. She grumbles softly as she wraps a blanket around her shoulders and comes to sit beside me at the counter. Ben tosses the bacon slices onto a paper plate, drains the grease into a bowl, then takes out a carton of eggs and a loaf of bread.

“What sort of animal flesh is this?” Annoth asks, eyeing the bacon suspiciously.

“Pig,” I tell her. “You’ll probably like it because it’s the closest thing to devouring the burned flesh of sinful humans.” Throwing me a withering look, she takes a slice and pops it into her mouth. I get the sense that she’s trying to hide how much she enjoys it. Ben is cracking eggs into a mixing bowl, then he adds some salt and paprika. I have to distract myself from howexcited I am to eat real food for the first time in two months, even if it is just scrambled eggs and toast.

“So, tell me this big master plan.”

“Well, I’m not an expert in demonology, unfortunately, but I have my theories,” Ben explains. “An exorcism is basically just…prayers and blessings, and holy water. Throwing a lot of ‘good stuff’ at the demon in order to drive it out, right?”

“Sure,” I say, stuffing bacon in my mouth.

“If we can’t do all the religious good stuff, what if you do a bunch of other good stuff?”

“Like what?”

“The opposite of sin, I guess. You know, feed the poor and rescue puppies and give candy to kids and shit like that. Good deeds.”

I consider his idea as I chew. “You really think doing all those things would make her just…go away?”

“I am sitting right here,” Annoth says curtly. “You needn’t speak of me as if I am absent. I ought to be part of this plan too, I think.”

“I mean, it can’t hurt, right?” Ben says with a shrug. “If nothing else, it’ll get you out of the house and back on your feet…hopefully.”

I let out a loud sigh, which feels a bit dramatic. Doing good deeds with Ben doesn’t sound any less exhausting than committing atrocities with Annoth. Besides, the whole reason she isn’t able to get a hold of me is because my emotions are so dulled. Should I even be trying to feel better when she’s still around? Then again, doing good deeds isn’t a cure for depression, and maybe it will be a good stopgap measure until Ben finds us a real priest.

“Alright,” I say finally. “I guess it’s worth a shot, but I still want you contacting people.”

Ben picks up his phone and shows me several texts he’s sent that morning already, all asking people to call him and saying that it’s important, or that he needs a favor (and promising it’s not money).

“I can’t guarantee any of them will reply,” he says as he stirs the eggs, “but I’m holding up my end of the deal.” His eyes flicker over toAnnoth, who looks down at her bacon. I’m immediately suspicious, but everything else in my mind is being overridden by the fact that I’m almost drooling as I watch Ben cook, and not just because of what he’s making. I really need to get a grip on myself if he’s going to be staying here. This can’t be healthyorhelpful.

I clear my throat and tear my eyes away from his biceps. “So, what’s our first order of business, then?”

“I figured we could start with a walk down to the park,” he suggests. “Appreciate the beauty of God’s creation, or whatever.”

Annoth snorts, “Must I participate in this charade?”

“Considering that you can’t be too far away from Theo, I think you will probably be forced to participate, yes,” Ben replies. She rolls her eyes and examines the scrambled eggs as he pushes them onto her plate.

“Hot sauce,” she says, pointing at the bottle on the counter. Ben passes it to her and watches, eyes wide, as she practically drowns the food with it.

“You know that’s the hottest one they have, right? You won’t even be able to taste the eggs.”

“She likes it because it reminds her of eating brimstone and still-beating human hearts,” I say. Ben laughs, and a pleasant shiver runs down my spine. His laugh is loud and ridiculous, but also warm and genuine. The thought of spending a day out and about with him, doing nice things, is far more appealing than it should be. That is, until I remember that Annoth will be there too, grumbling and scratching inside my head, probably encouraging me to commit felonies.

“Areyougoing to be cooperative while we try this plan?” I ask her.