After centuries of settling on possessing one single body, his Nephil vassal, for just two weeks a year, Patch finally reached his limit. He wanted to feel, he wanted to know what it really meant to be human. Why else would he have fallen from Heaven to begin with? If he had known then what he know now - that simply falling didn't mean that he would instantly become human - would he still have done it? That question plagued him for the better part of his time on Earth, and the only answer he ever came to was yes. Yes, he would fall again. At least this way he had two weeks a year to feel, to pretend and experience what it was like to be human.

He was getting restless, looking for the solution to his problem. He remember hearing about a book when he was in Heaven. The Book of Enoch. There was a legend, though nothing confirmed, in the book that said if he killed his Nephil vassal, he could become human. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. His Nephil vassal is a half demon, which basically means that he's immortal. There was one other way, though. He needed to find one of his Nephil vassal's male descendents and sacrifice him for his greater good. That wouldn't be so hard; he had done worse in his time. He was certain it wouldn't be that difficult to track his family tree and follow the chain to the lucky boy.

Patch spent the better part of his time researching and tracking descendents. His search finally turned fruitful and he soon found himself in Coldwater, Maine.

What a boring town. He really needed to hurry up and find his prey so he could do what needed to be done and get the hell out of this place. If he was going to be stuck here for any amount of time, though, he needed to find a place to relax, make some money, and have a little fun! He found a pool hall that fit the bill – seedy and tough. He spent most of the time, he wasn't reconnoitering there and quickly earned a pretty stout reputation. Seemed that other people were looking for a little excitement as well as someone to challenge. The fallen was more than happy to lend a hand, help out the locals. Ha. Patch quickly racked up some pretty pricey possessions and money – man, he loved that part of humanity, people always so quick to try to prove how bad-assed they think they really are. He loved watching their faces fall and turn all shades of red after they had their asses handed to them. No one likes to lose, he knew that; He wasn't stupid, so he always had to watch his back when he left the hall. It wasn't his fault that he was just that good!

He looked up the male descendent, Vain Knightmare was his name. He was a high school student, so it wasn't really hard to keep an eye on him. Actually, he was really easy on the eyes. Great legs. Dark curly hair with a natural glow – ah, Patch was always a sucker for schoolboys. Pretty eyes, nice skin, perfect lips. Hmmm… Pretty, very pretty. There was a certain kind of classic beauty about him, or perhaps it was innocence? Was the angel sure Vain was related to his Nephil vassal? Who knew his genes, or at least parts of them, could result in this sweet boy?

Vain spent most of his time at school, at swim practice, or at home. He was always with one friend, another male. A boy that looked like he could be a Japanese warrior – he was HUGE!

Anyway back to Vain. Patch couldn't believe that he didn't have a boyfriend. He was a very gorgeous boy and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders – smart, compassionate, and confident. He wondered what kind of individual he would be into? Would he like a fallen angel kind of guy? Someone who had a dangerous air about him? Someone with devilish good looks? Someone like himself? Ugh, why was he thinking about that… He digress…Vain lived with his brother in a house that was really quite remote compared to the surrounding suburbs. After weeks of tailing, making notes, and taking pictures, A LOT of pictures, it became pretty clear that Vain basically lived by himself. His brother was very rarely home, always on the road. Could this get any easier for him? A high school student who doesn't have a lot of friends and who was home alone most nights? This would be a cake walk!

He started plotting his attack. Was it better to make it look like a mugging gone wrong for the poor boy while he was on his way to swim practice? Or was it better to stage an in-home invasion? He even considered making it look like he was involved in a tragic and fatal car accident. It didn't really matter to Patch, just as long the boy's blood was spilled by his hands. The fallen angel decided that more recon was needed, he had to make sure everything was perfect, nothing overlooked.

He followed Vain more intently, daring himself to get as close as possible. He had to, after all, get to know him a little better for his plans to succeed. The funny thing, though, was the closer he got to Vain, the more little things would spark his curiosity. Silly things like certain facial expressions he made or some of his hand gestures. Again, humans never ceased to amaze him. So many little movements to convey thoughts and feelings without speaking one single word. What was she passionate about? What made this boy tick? Answers to those questions would certainly be helpful in my task, right?

That decided his next step – break into his house, find out more about this boy. He waited until he went to school, after his brother went out, and before their housekeeper arrived. Their house was tidy and comfortable. He went upstairs and quickly found Vain's room. Again, it was tidy and had a certain pleasant order to it. He took pictures of the room so that he could study them after he was gone, just in case he missed anything of importance, of course. He looked through his CD's, his books, papers on his desk, and his journal. That was a piece of art – his journal was filled with simple yet thought provoking poetry. Interesting. He took pictures of a few of the more intense and poignant poems. Patch then opened his closet and found a large hard-cased item – a guitar. This boy was a classic. He wonder what it would be like to watch and listen to him actually play? Did he still play? There were a few pictures of Vain and his brother on his dresser and his nightstand. Hmmm… In all the time he had been watching him, he seen nothing of his parents. They probably ran out on them. Assholes.

With all this new food for thought, he felt confident about putting his plan into action soon. The anticipation was killing him. He decided to go to the pool hall to calm his thoughts and relax a bit. Maybe he'd even take some poor fool for some money or something even better. Patch found a poker game that looked pretty interesting. The stakes were high, chips all over the table – my

kind of game. He pulled a chair up to the table and started taking money from the overly eager guys. He was interrupted by BJ, the new owner of the club. He said a lady was here to see him. What lady in her right mind would come to a place like this? He told him to send her down. Patch gathered his chips, pushed away from the poker table, and walked over to the pool tables. He leaned against the table facing the stairs. Who he saw walking down the stairs surprised and shocked him. Malory.