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Christ.”
    He stopped, the smile fading into a frown. “Your little trick won’t work this time.”
    Lying. He’s lying. He just wants to scare you. I’d done this before, and knew he’d be back. I’d prepared myself. “I cast you out, back to Hell. In the name of Jesus Christ, my friend, I cast you out, you fucking piece of shit!” My voice got stronger and louder. Now I was walking forward and he was backing away, and holy fuck did he look pissed. “Get out, get out, get the fuck out!”
    Satan roared, and then he was gone.
    I stood there with my heart pounding and took a long shaky breath. The whole thing had lasted maybe a minute, but it brought all my fears rushing to the surface. Joshua’s blessing still worked; I could still kick my dad out. But how long would this last? I couldn’t count on it forever and I didn’t want to keep going through this. If he got hold of me before I could banish him, he could drag me to Hell where Joshua’s protection wouldn’t do jack shit.
    Is it safe? Mew-Mew asked from the bedroom.
    “Yeah. For now.”
    Flying was well and good, but I didn’t know how useful it’d be in a fight. My fire, ice, and telekinetic powers were strong, but they hadn’t done much damage to Satan in the past. One thing had—Animus. My sword had cut off his hand during our battle and might have done more if Satan hadn’t run away. I didn’t really know how to sword-fight, so I figured it was time to learn. Mew-Mew hurried into the room, and I picked him up for a reassuring hug.
    “I think I need to go back to Japan.”
    ***
    I wondered if I should go right after school on Friday, but I had those movie plans. If I blew them off they might think it was personal and I didn’t want to screw up my chance to make friends. And I wanted to see Hayley. So maybe after the movie.
    With Daddy’s little visit still fresh in my mind, I wanted to start training as soon as possible. I told myself a few days wouldn’t hurt and did my best to put it aside so I could focus on getting through my day.
    It seemed to take forever to get to lunch. This time I went down on my own and found the table. Hayley wasn’t there yet, but Casey was and he seemed thrilled to have me there. “Hey, Alex. Hayley said you’re coming to the movie tonight.”
    “Yep.” Today was a taco with questionable-looking meat and some crappy-ass lettuce. Maybe I should start bringing my own lunches.
    “Cool,” he said.
    “Do you need a ride or anything?” Lucia asked. “I have my parents’ car for the night. I’m picking up Casey and Hayley. I could get you too.”
    I was going to say no, that I could take a cab no problem, but the chance to ride with Hayley changed my mind. “Yeah, that would be great.” We exchanged cell numbers and I sent her a text with my address. This was so cool. I was going to a movie with friends from school, just like a normal teenager. No cemeteries, no weird stuff.
    Hayley slid into the spot across from me, saying hi to her friend. She looked over at me and smiled. “Hi, Alex.”
    “Hi,” I said, and fuckity-fuck I felt myself blushing again. I was all badass in front of the bullies, but with her I turned into a red-faced idiot. Why couldn’t I be all James Bond or something? I didn’t know what else to say to her, so I ended up staring at her like a fool for a few seconds. What the fuck was wrong with me? Finally I managed, “Oh, your friend is giving me a ride to the movie. I hope you don’t mind me riding with you.”
    “No, I don’t mind.” She looked down at her plate like something on it had just gotten really interesting.
    To avoid further idiocy, I turned to Casey. “So, are the jocks leaving you alone?”
    He nodded. “They keep giving me dirty looks, and a couple of them called me names behind my back, but they haven’t touched me or threatened me.”
    “Good.” I looked around at the rest of the table. “If they pick on any of you, let me know. Or if you hear about them