A reunion of old friends.

Ryan could not fathom anyone else could be as gorgeous as Marlissa and yet waiting for them at the second floor was a statuesque blonde whose beauty rivaled his wife's.

"Grace!" Marlissa cried out before she elevator door fully opened.

"Marlissa!" the tall, slender blonde smiled with her arms open to welcome her old friend. The two women hugged and gave each other kisses on their cheeks.

"Who is this handsome man with you?" Grace asked in a posh British accent. She stood slightly taller than Marlissa and wore an elegant silvery-white chiffon gown with a plunging v-neck, exposing her clavicle, ample cleavage, and silver choker around her long, slender neck.

"This is my husband, Ryan!" Marlissa giggled, wrapping her arms around his and giving it a tight squeeze.

"Husband?" the blonde wondered curiously with an arched eyebrow.

"Legally, we're not married yet..." Ryan began to explained, wondering how he was going to explain his wife was a demoness.

"... because he summoned me," Marlissa continued. "I have no government identification."

Ryan was nonplussed that Marlissa has just blurted out that he had summoned her but given Grace's unfazed reaction to the revelation it seemed that she already knew of his wife's otherworldly origins.

"And you sought me out to help you obtain the proper paperwork?" Grace smiled, motioning them to follow her to the living room. Ryan noticed her movement was so graceful it seemed to him that she floated.

"Yes," Marlissa replied as she sat down at the sofa with Ryan.

"I see," Grace nodded, sweeping her long elegant gown beneath her thighs before she sat down in the armchair across from the couple. "It can be easily arranged with the contacts of mine, however, I must ask your husband first how he possesses the ability to summon a succubus to the mortal realm?"

Ryan eyes widened, wondering how the beautiful blonde knew his wife's true nature. "How do you know she's a succubus?"

"Because I am an angel," Grace replied matter-of-factly.

"I'm confused..." Ryan stuttered. "An angel and a demon are friends?"

"Is it any harder to fathom a mortal man married to a succubus?" Grace replied with a barely noticeable shrug.

"I thought the Bible says that angels and demons loathed each other?" Ryan asked. He was not a religious man but he probably read the Bible more thoroughly than most Christians, partially for the academics and partially for the fantastic mythically lore.

"The Bible says a lot of things," Grace sighed, "which most of it is incorrect -- but what do you expect from a bunch of misogynist nomads?

"But to answer your curiosity: yes, angels and demons have been at war throughout the ages. I have myself have slain too many fiends to count. However, due to circumstances I became friends with your wife."

Ryan looked at Marlissa to see if she was upset that Grace had mentioned she was a demon slayer but she was just smiling at her friend. "What kind of angel are you, may I ask?" He was curious since various cultures and religions had angelic beings.

"I will tell you if you reveal to me how you summoned Marlissa?"

Ryan nodded.

"I am a Dynama, or referred by religious scholars as a Power or Authority," Grace answered. "Us Dynamis are charged with watching over demons, devils, and other fiends and protect mortals from them."

Ryan was speechless. If he had not summoned a bunch of imps and later a succubus he would not have believed there was supernatural beings from folklore and myth.

"You must be dry," Grace chuckled and with a wave of her hand a pitcher of iced water and two glasses floated towards the couple. The pitcher poured itself into the glasses and then the glasses served themselves to Marlissa's and Ryan's hands.

"Thank you," Ryan said after taking a much needed sip of water. He paused to compose himself before speaking again. "I discovered in a library in Azerbaijan a forgotten ancient book written in Sumerian."

"You know how to read Sumerian?" Grace smirked. "Impressive."

"I'm an archeologist so I know several languages for my line of work," Ryan answered.

"Very impressive," Grace nodding with approval. "Very few mortals today know of the lost mystical arts. Technology and science has made it rather redundant."

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," Ryan replied.

"Yes, Arthur C. Clarke," Grace chuckled. "I enjoyed reading his novels."

"Summoning creatures from another dimension is not within the scope of science outside of science fiction," Ryan noted, taking another sip of water. "I only thought magic was something that belonged to fantasy novels and Dungeons and Dragons until I had summoned that first imp."

"Again, it is very impressive that you were able to use magic to summon the demon," Grace said, eyeing Ryan carefully. "Even knowing how to read the ancient language does not grant one the skill and power needed to tap into the arcane. So where is this ancient tome, may I ask?"

"Safely stored in my loft," Ryan answered.

"Perhaps I could borrow it to peruse its contents?" Grace asked. "Besides, I think it would be much safer here where there are magical wards to protect it from falling into the wrong hands."

Ryan was hesitant -- he knew should trust Grace since she was an angel but something about her demeanor was a bit off to him. "I guess since I don't have any further use for it." The only thing he could think of using the ancient spellbook was to banish Marlissa back to the Abyss and he had no intention of doing that.

"Wonderful!" Grace smiled with brilliant, white perfect teeth.

"May I ask you a question?" Ryan inquired. "Why 666 Park Avenue?"

"Irony!" Grace laughed. "Although I am sure you have plenty of others questions to ask of me."

"Yeah, I do..."

"In that case let me take you on a tour of my humble home while I answer your queries," Grace offered, standing up and motioned for the couple to follow her.