Free Human by Alycia Linwood

He shrugged. "Either way, her parents bought some time. Wish I knew the reason."
    "So the demons want my sister because she's an illegitimate angel child, and there's nothing we can do to stop them from finding her," I said, staring at my brown boots. "If I kill this demon, won't the others come too? It will be an infinite fight then, and sooner or later someone will get to her."
    "No, not every demon can cross from Hell to the human world. Just like not every angel can do it. But with us it depends on how much time we spend in the human world or how much power we have. I spend most of my time here, so it's easy for me to enter. Those who have spent most of their time in Heaven or don't have enough magic in them have difficulties to do it," he said. "It might be the same with demons, but it's not for sure. We don't see it often enough to do a research."
    "So if we get rid of this demon, it might take the others some time to come?" I didn't even dare to hope for fear I would jinx it.
    "Yes, but that depends on who sent him. There are many kings in Hell, and we can only guess what kind of resources they have." He put his arm around my waist as some woman passed not far from us, carrying a whole load of shopping bags and talking loudly on her cell phone. She didn't spare us a second glance, but Amadeo was extra cautious.
    "I thought there was only one king of Hell." I felt a little bit sad as the warmth of his body left mine, and his arm was no longer touching me.
    "No, they could never agree on one ruler." He rolled his eyes. "All of the most powerful demons wanted to be kings, so they finally decided to divide Hell between them. Idiots."
    "Ok, so how do I kill a demon?" If I said the demon's name, I'd think of him as human and that would be wrong. It would make me hesitate, and then I wouldn't be able to do anything.
    "Well, I'd tell you to use your powers, but since you seem to be a half-breed, you might not have any," he said, and I didn't feel like telling him that I had a completely different opinion on the topic of me being anything other than human.
    "Ah, so I, like another illegitimate half-angel child, could kill a demon without causing a war? And how exactly could demons tell I was illegitimate, and how would demons and angels even fight each other if they weren't strong enough to cross into another world? It would be a lame war if you ask me," I pointed out, reminding myself that Amadeo could as well be lying to me. Not that he had a reason to lie, but still...
    "It's a magic thing. When children are acknowledged, their names are written in magic in our book. The deal demons and angels made to ensure peace is also signed in magic and if someone breaches it, everyone will be alerted. Besides, the war wouldn't be just in the human world; it would be in Heaven and Hell too." He stared at the tree in front of us like it was the most amazing thing in the world, his voice betraying a hint of sadness. "Many years ago, angels could actually go to Hell and demons to Heaven. It wasn't common, but it happened from time to time. They were curious about each other... until the war broke out."
    "Wow, that sounds... unusual," I said impatiently. Today everyone seemed to be dragging out the part I wanted to hear the most. "How do I kill him without any special powers?"
    "Set him on fire and throw the ashes into the running water." He looked at me and smiled, leaving me dumbfounded. Set him on fire? What kind of an advice was that?
    "But that means I have to bind him to something and make sure he doesn't escape or puts out the flames!" I raised my voice, which made Amadeo uncomfortable.
    "Hey, I'm not an expert on killing demons, especially not without my powers," he said, irritated. "If you would just let me take your sister to Heaven..."
    "What?" I felt anger swell up inside of me. "No one is taking my sister anywhere!"
    "But she'd be safe there and with her own people." He made it sound so simple and reasonable that I wanted to