"No, mom, you wouldn't understand."

During the drive home, Mrs. Lee incessantly asked what had happened back in Joan's room, but this was all Injun could answer. And really, that was what he honestly and truly thought. No one could be in his or her right mind to believe that Injun was instructed by Jin, and indirectly by the entire angelic army, to fight off demons. It would be a whole 'nother level to get anyone to believe that negative human experiences were at the hands of demons. Injun hadn't really spoken with either of his parents since his father came back and rained domestic violence on the household, but this was a new take on impossible.

Mrs. Lee tried to get a confession from Injun for a while, but soon gave up and drove in silence. Just like before, it had started raining right when the door to Joan's room flew open, immediately after the demon had been banished. After Jin told Injun that the rain was a sign of cleansing, he found the natural phenomenon felt more like a supernatural one. It made him feel like he had done something good for someone else. Even Mrs. Lee seemed surprised when the unforeseen rain began to fall.

Once they reached their home, Jin appeared to Injun and warned him to go straight up to his room. Apparently, Mr. Lee had found out about his wife's stay at Eun Jiwon's, and he wasn't happy. Upon entering, Injun quickly ran past his angry father and straight to his room. Mr. Lee started shouting, calling Mrs. Lee a and whatnot. It seemed that every time they went at each other, Injun's father would start calling her those kinds of names, as if she wasn't faithful.

"Thanks for the heads up," Injun sighed as he locked the door to his room.

"I'm sorry," Jin sighed. "I really wish I could help."

"Didn't you say you could drive the demons away? Then can't you get rid of them now?"

"Don't you remember, Pooh Bear?" Jin gave a sad smile. "One: yes, I've said I can drive them away, but I can't banish them like you can. Two: that only works when you are fighting them. I can't drive them away by myself if you're not in a fight."

"Then I'll go and summon them, so you can drive them back."

"I'm sorry, but if you go into battle, then let me save you, they'll just come back to bother your parents again. I can only repel them from the battle, not from the actual place or people they're afflicting. I'm sorry, Pooh Bear."

Heaving a big sigh, Injun lay back on his bed and let his frustration swallow him whole. The temptation to go out and battle his parents' demons was so strong, but so were Jin's echoing instructions. Although the angel was a bit shady, Injun felt a certain infallible trust through his burning desire to know more about this whole angel ordeal.

"By the way," Injun sat up, "what happened at the Eun's place? What was that light?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about tonight," Jin sat down beside the boy.

"Was that you coming to save me?"

"No," Jin shook his head. "In fact, that wasn't me at all. That was Eun Jiwon."

"Him? But isn't he human? How could he--"

"He was praying for his daughter, and also for you. He and your mother couldn't enter the room when it became a spiritual battlground, and he became worried. So, he prayed. His prayer for you two was manifested in that light that paralyzed the demon."

"I owe him a lot," Injun spoke in awe. "I was about to give up when that light shone."

"In your special situations," Jin continued, "prayers will be helpful in different ways. Even I can't say what will happen. Some disable the demon's powers, some give you more abilities, and some very powerful ones will completely immobilize the demon. Jiwon was overcome with helplessness, and he could only fall on his knees and pray. Your mother joined him too, which is probably why it was strong enough to paralyze the demon."

Injun couldn't help but wonder just how much Jiwon loved his daughter, and thought of his own father. Mr. Lee's eyes sometimes looked like they could kill Injun, and the boy felt unsafe at times. He was a bit jealous.

"Oh yeah," Injun looked back at Jin. "I was wanted to ask you something."

"Sure thing," Jin nodded.

"The last time with Jihwan's demon, I...I don't know, sensed the demon's presence. It turned invisible and I could somehow feel where it was."

"You have the ability to tell where the demons are. It's like me with other angels."

"But this time," Injun frowned, "I couldn't. I mean, I thought I'd be able to tell which one was the real demon when it duplicated itself."

"I told you this one was more powerful, Injun. The one you just banished not only had the ability to make illusions, it could also block your powers. It requires a powerful being to be able to do that. I'm just glad I didn't have to drive it away to save you."

"Didn't you say I'd have some other powers too? Why can't I do things like they can?"

"As I've said," Jin flicked Injun's forehead, "you have the potential to. You just have to keep going at it until you can hone in on them and learn how to use them. It's like learning how to walk, then run. You have to get used to which muscles to use, and keep using them to strengthen them. It's the same principle, except more like spiritual muscles."

"Okay," Injun nodded. "I think I get it."

"And someday, you may even get so powerful that even those with restricting abilities won't be able to stop you from using your powers."

"Can I get the answer to one more question? Please, I need you to be honest."

"This sounds like another 'you're not ready' kind of question," Jin's face fell.

"It probably is," Injun sighed. "I want to know why you called me a 'Dark Prince.' I'm not royalty, and if I'm fighting off demons, how does that make me dark?"

"Well, Pooh Bear..." Jin struggled for words.

"Can you answer me or not?"

"No. I know you're probably sick of hearing this, but you'll know when the time comes."

"Why the hell do you have to be so secretive? If I'm such a big piece in this angel-demon game, don't I have the right to know?"

"Calm down, Injun," Jin raised his hands in defense.

"I think if you're going to use me, then you can at least let me know why."

"Injun, be quiet. Your parents might hear you."

Injun took a moment to be quiet and listen to see if his parents were approaching or talking. They weren't.

"Sorry," Injun looked down. "I'm just really frustrated that I don't know--"

"You will know, Pooh Bear," Jin placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Believe me when I say that you cannot handle the truth right now when you've only started learning about us. I'm sure you've gotten used to us, but there are aspects we haven't deemed you ready to know yet. After all, the prophecy indicates that you'll--"

"Wait, what prophecy? There's a prophecy about me?"

"Oops," Jin covered his face. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"You mean I'm part of a prophecy? Me?"

"Well," Jin shrugged, "we're pretty sure it's you. I mean, there's really no other...uh..."

"Pretty sure? I thought you were angels."

"First of all, I'm an angel on earth, not in Heaven. I may be ageless, but I'm stuck in this wheel of time as you humans are. The ones of Heaven are not bound by time, so they know what will happen in addition to the past. We guardian angels on earth only know what we've seen. I can't tell you what the future holds."

"So that's why you said you'd be as confused as I am at times?"

"Yes," Jin nodded. "And secondly, prophecies in general are so vague that you can't be sure of anything until the whole ordeal has passed. You may surprise us and not be the Dark Prince as we've guessed."

"You mean you weren't told what the prophecy means, nor for sure who I am?"

"I'm afraid not. The only orders I had was to work with you to banish demons, though you would do all the hard work. You may not be the one to fulfill the prophecy, you may not even be in the right time, but you are our best guess. That's all I can tell you for now."

This was even more for Injun to process, along with the previous fights and the meeting with Ashley, which he still had to prepare for. He didn't even know what to say, or what conversation to strike up without being awkward, or sounding crazy. Injun himself felt crazy whenever he imagined himself talking to anyone about what was going on. There was no one to trust except for Jin, which was both a blessing and a curse.

"I'll leave you for tonight," Jin patted Injun's back with force. "You had better be going to bed. Don't want to be late for school."

"Fine, mother," Injun teased.

The angel disappeared in a flash of light with a laugh, and Injun was left alone. But he now knew better to think that he was ever truly alone. Whether that was comforting or unsettling was something he near constantly debated about.