The apprehension was steadily increasing. It burned a pit within her, forming a cavern of
trepidation. The moment Harry had walked away from the demon's potent energy it had began to niggle. It gnawed over the weekend as she played with Charlie. It gnawed as she sat working of any evening. It gnawed as she sent mix signals to David while she struggled to decide whether to begin pushing him away or make the most of the last bit of time she had with him before she broke his heart. By the time Monday had come the sense of worry was a river of acid corroding her insides.

As Harry moved about the school grounds whilst on lunch duty, she stressed about the deal. Why hadn't she asked for more details about what this mystery cure was? What if he were manipulating her in some way? What would be the consequences of her deal? She was petrified of having signed herself up for another murder.

Harry furrowed her eyebrows. It just didn't seem right that a deal with a demon should stand when said demon was guiding the other person's emotions, even if that person was more capable of resisting than most.

Is it free will when you let someone influence your disposition? A court of law would find one guilty for a crime while under the influence of alcohol, but not guilty if mentally unstable. Based on that logic, maybe the decision had been completely hers. She could have distanced herself to think, but she didn't want time to rationalise herself out of it. Her love for Charlie wasn't rational. She had agreed to the del and now she had to live with that.

She didn't really regret their bargain. Not yet, anyway. She would take the life when the time arose, not only because she was bound by her word, but also because it was a mother's job to keep their offspring from harm, and that was a job she took very seriously.

"I love the new accessory, Miss," Annelisse said cheerily, interrupting Harry's contemplations.

Harry gave a flourish of her hand.

"Thank you, some of the Year 8s seemed to like it in class today too, though I think a couple were making fun of me behind my back."

"Is that so?" Casey chimed in with a devilish grin crossing her face. Harry smiled to herself considering the implications of that grin, based on her new knowledge of Casey's capabilities. She wouldn't be suprised if a number of the junior students would come in with reformed attitudes towards her new fashion statements on Tuesday.

"I wouldn't worry about them, Miss. I think a lot of students really love the fashion statement. It totally works for you." Annelisse added, her smile looking determined.

Harry understood the undercurrent to her words. It said, "Continue wearing the glove. the demons appreciate it, and we'll deal with anyone who oversteps."

It was for this very reason Harry had kept the glove on during her playground duty anyway; she wanted as much of the school's demon community to see her wearing that glove as possible. She hoped it would put those she was a danger to at ease. Based on the general response of the students she had engaged in genuine conversations, she felt her strategy had been working.

Even Troy looked at her wide eyed, when she stopped him to see how he'd been doing since the previous week. He stared at her earnestly, the expression conveying his conflicting emotions before he'd shrugged it off, putting on the veil of indifference he so often wore these days.

"You know me, Miss. Always fine."

She had been given some funny looks by a couple of the teachers, however. Gayle had eyed her the most significantly, which Harry had found ironic since she had the oddest fashion sense on staff.

She had considered trying to come up with an excuse, but couldn't think of anything that would fit. If she said that it was in memorial of something there'd be a timeline until she would be expected to take it off. If she said she was hiding a gash on her hand or something of the like, again there would be a timeline, plus she wouldn't be able to remove the glove in front of anyone without revealing her deception. Since no-one had asked yet, she would keep silent for as long as possible. If they eventually did ask, she would tell them the truth: it was a birthday gift, and she liked it.

As the bell rang, she returned to her office, having a stack of paperwork to deal with. Since the students had become scared of her (which she now understood the reasoning behind), the number of behaviour incidents had dropped significantly. The worst thing she'd had to deal with on the behaviour front had been the fact that Gayle couldn't hold the interest of her classes. Still, even though several kids had been doing what was necessary to prevent a trip to the Principal's office, the documents on her desk had somehow bred. It was like the suspension documents had been replaced with double the amount of other administration. Perhaps the paperwork she had been neglecting had found its way to her, or maybe it was just that time of the year. Whatever the reason, as Harry walked back up the staircase she hoped that the administrative fairies (otherwise known as Erin) would have taken some of it away for when she got back to her desk.

She walked through the entrance to the admin building and the cool blast from the air conditioner hit her. She hadn't realised just how warm outside was until she had compared it with inside. If this was the end of August, still winter, Harry was not looking forward to summer. The last weeks of the school year, in early December would be killers.

She looked up from her thoughts to check in with Erin in case she'd missed something important while on duty. Sam Dupret lounged in Erin's chair while Erin bustled about behind him.

"Afternoon. See, I respected your privacy, I didn't even try to gain entry to your room without permission." Sam started proudly, gesturing to his seat.

Would you like a medal? Harry thought, but bit her tongue. She moved towards her door,  motioning for Sam to follow her in.

Her heart fluttered as she felt his eyes on her as she walked in front of him. She refused to accept the temptation to accentuate her hip movements the way she always had when she sensed David's eyes upon her. Even if the frequency in which she had found herself imagining Sam doing things to her that only David was allowed to do had increased, that didn't mean she needed to actively seek to turn fantasy into reality.

Sam shut the door behind him. His eyes burnt ferociously as he looked at her. He was a lion slowly hunting his prey. His gaze coveted her. The acid inside her boiled, and every sense inside her tingled. The knowledge that this beautiful, powerful being wanted her was intoxicating, but she couldn't determine whether that was her own emotion or one he was wanting her to feel.

He walked around the room. How much had changed since the first time he had been in this room. Then he was just a man, but a powerful man, and she had felt an insignificant little girl who went into a panic attack over a minor confrontation. Now he was an ancient demon, yet she was somehow his equal. She had grown strong, in more ways than just those provided by the necklace. She predicted she would need that strength in the weeks to come.

Sam's eyes fell on the time capsule. Harry still hadn't had the stomach to remove Jake. It was asking for the indiscretion to be discovered (she didn't know whether the red ash could be tested and confirmed as Jake) but she couldn't bring herself to remove him, no matter how many times she'd tried, or how often she'd schooled herself in the idiocy of leaving the evidence at the scene of the crime.

Sam unscrewed the lid. "Can I take him?" he asked seriously. "His mother knows that he shouldn't have confronted you, stupid boy actually thought I meant you had it in your bag and that I wanted him to get it, but his mum still deserves some closure. She still lost a son."

Harry was speechless. She stared at him quizzically.

"He went into this room while you were wearing the necklace, and you went in after. He never came back out. Clearly his ashes were hidden somewhere, unless you'd removed them. Look around the room, where else would you hide them?"

Her mouth dropped. Not only had he guessed Jake's location, but he had also guessed the source of her suprise.

"So, is that a 'yes'? Of course you can keep the capsule..."

Harry nodded as she regained the composure.

"And what about our deal?" she asked.

"I've already been visiting with David. The mask is hidden in the fridge with instructions. Don't worry, David won't look in the fridge tonight. As long as the mask is out of the fridge by tomorrow, you're safe. And you'll want to be using it tonight while it's fresh anyway."

Sam gave her a bored looking expression, "Anyway, I've got things to do. I'll organise for someone to take Jake off your hands at some point over the next couple of days. Good luck with your daughter. Just remember that I have upheld my end of the deal. If you decide to use the mask or not, your end of the deal must still be met."

With an extravagant bow, Sam left Harry.

Though questions charged through her mind,  due to his abrupt exit, they remained unvoiced.

The paperwork still surrounded her, but none would be done that afternoon. There was no way she could concentrate now.