James hadn't seen Uma in almost eight years. The anniversary was coming up, the day that he left the convent, and the boarding school, and packed everything into a single hard shelled suitcase. Before he clamored onto a train and lived in and out of hostels for about a month or two. Before the director had found him and promised to pay for the rest of his secondary education and university if he wanted, no strings attached. Supposedly the director just couldn't bare to see him live like a vagrant. James wasn't sure if he believed that.

Uma was the only other orphan from the convent, which wasn't really supposed to be taking in orphans. James was there first, he had been left on the steps of Saint Mary's Catholic Convent when he was barely a year old. Since his integration into the church and their culture, he had done everything in his power to prove that he was worthy of keeping. When he was old enough to hold a shovel, he tended the grounds and stables and cleaned the rooms. He never missed a service and he devoted himself to God because it must have been God's will that he was there.

The Director at that time was Lady Larissa Goodfellow, though James always thought she should have been named a Saint. Perhaps she would have been had it not been for her untimely demise.

Uma Seki, or Uma Eyvind, depending on how European they wanted to sound on hotel reservations, had come to the convent when they were 11 years old. James despised them immediately. Unlike James, they did nothing to prove they were worthy of acceptance at the convent, instead clinging to one of the sickly wards that called Saint Mary's his home. They did not attend church and James knew for a fact that they were not Catholic. James had once complained about their presence to Lady Goodfellow and received a thorough scolding for his pride.

"You aren't any more deserving of our grace because you work hard, James." Lady Goodfellow had said, "The Lord welcomes everyone into his house, and so shall we."

Their relationship had improved at the boarding school before completely falling apart after Lady Goodfellow's death.

And now they were here, at a Victorian gin house. It was a little after nine and James had an unread message from Noah asking where he had gone. James fiddled with his phone for a moment too long, attracting Uma's unwanted attention. He turned his phone completely off and put it in his pocket after that, then tossed his credit card on the table and ordering them both a round.

"How are things?" Uma asked politely, taking their glass and putting it to their lips. James watched the way their pale throat moved when they swallowed and looked away.

"Things are fine." James said, flippantly enough that he hoped Uma wouldn't catch the lie in it, "I finished my masters degree last semester. I'm working on my PhD now."

Uma's eyebrow twitched and they set their glass down, clinking it against the glass top of their table.

"Really? What were you going for again?"

James tried not to bristle at the question. He hadn't seen Uma in almost eight years, there was no way for them to know what he was doing. Though, he thought rather crossly, surely Director Eyvind would have mentioned it to them.

Or he hoped that they would have asked.

"Masters in Philosophy." James said, taking a sip from his glass and trying not to gag on it, "Doctorate in Theology and Religion."

"I thought you weren't Catholic anymore?"

"You don't need to be Catholic to have a religions doctorate."

Uma hmmed, as if the idea had not occurred to them. They watched James struggle to finish his second sip of gin before offering to take the glass off his hands. James pushed it towards them and waved down the bartender for a glass of water.

"Of course, you're the star pupil, not me."

They fell into a moment of familiar, companionable silence. Even if they hadn't seen each other in years, it would always come back to this.

"What are you doing in London." James asked at last, though he already knew the answer. Uma indulged him anyways.

"Monster hunting, the Director sent me here."

James tilted his glass, watching the way the light scintillated off the ice cubes and glass walls.

"Not enough magicians in London?"

"Not enough magicians in general." Uma said pointedly and James frowned, glancing at the bartender currently washing up some glasses in the sink. James nodded to one of the booths in the corner and Uma stood, taking the one half full glass of with them and leaving the empty one on the bar.

They slid into opposing seats, James leaning forward on his elbows.

"Be straight with me, Uma--"

"Have I ever been straight with you?"

"You know that's not what I mean."

Uma's eyes fluttered again, their eyes were dark, dark, dark, and lovely. Everything about them was lovely. James had to remind himself that he wasn't single anymore and that of all the people he could have a fling with, Uma should be at the very bottom of his list. Even if everyone up until Noah looked suspiciously like them.

"Why are you really here?" James asked.

Uma sighed, leaning back and holding their glass, lazily swirling the watered down gin before bringing it to their lips and knocking it back.

"I was looking for you. The Director said you weren't answering his emails and thought that if anyone could talk some sense into you, it would be me."

"I've never had any sense around you."

"I know." Uma said, "Maybe what he really wanted was for me to seduce you."

"I'm in a relationship."

This caught the attention of both Uma's eyebrows, which were currently sat high on their forehead. James exhaled a little, sipping his water and setting it down carefully on the table so that it wouldn't make any sound.

"They're probably expecting me home soon, actually."

Uma's expression turned stormy all at once. James knew what that meant.

"You're still running then."

It was James' turn to turn stormy, "I don't run."

"Tell that to the cat I had to save you from."

"That's--"

"Not different." Uma snapped, "Or were you not grasping for magic back there? You know if you had ignored it, it probably would have left you alone. Listen, James, you're either a magician or you aren't. You can't have it both ways."

James gritted his teeth, his eyes going back to the bar. The bartender seemed to be otherwise occupied. James leaned in, making sure to trap Uma in his icy gaze. Dark met light a war of angels and devils.

"I would have ignored it," James said, "I would have looked the other way. If the cat wasn't already dead. If I hadn't been attacked by another dead thing the night before."

Uma frowned, their lips pressed into a tight line.

"Just when things were starting to settle down for me," James said, "it started again. I hadn't seen a normal monster in months. I only acted the way I did tonight because I was cornered."

"And if I hadn't been there, maybe you'd be be another corpse in the morgue."

It was a weighted assessment and one James knew all too well was true. He didn't want to give Uma the satisfaction of admitting it.

"I'm not going back." James said, standing, "I promised myself I'd never go back to that place."

Uma watched him, watched him scratch his blunt fingers against his scalp and pull at brown tufts of hair.

"I have to go home."

"You'll be back." Uma said, their gaze dropping to the empty glass and remaining ice.

James didn't say anything to that. He zipped up his hoodie and stepped out onto the street. It wasn't empty but it wasn't crowded either. He turned his phone back on and called a cab. There were three texts from Noah now, one with too many question marks and exclamation points. He responded to it with some lame excuse.

I got held up at the library, he had said, I'll be home in 10 minutes.

Noah responded immediately, like he always did, and everything was right in the world again.

Only it wasn't and James could feel Uma's seething gaze on the back of his skull. He took out his pack of cigarettes, too agitated to wait, and put one on his lips.

He realized a second later that he didn't have a lighter.