"War is war, but we need to look good every now and then," Parry said. And by now and then, he meant all the time. The first time he took Rikive to a club, she'd been talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. Demanding a glass of mead, trying to do a courtly dance on the floor, and breaking the wrists of a human who tried to cop a feel (not that he disagreed with that one; a few free drinks had come floating their way).  "And less is more in your case. Leather looks good but leave the miniskirt."

As for her follow up question of why he chose to remain Nephilim rather than taking up his Celestial mantle, he answered that one with silence, but did cast a glance at the floorboards near his bed. The Iron Sword was buried there. Useless to most magi. Even to Rikive. Drawing it was a no-no. Nemsemet might know what it was, but even he couldn't channel it.

No, Parry wouldn't be putting his wings back on. Not for himself and not for anyone in this city. Rikive could call him selfish if she wanted, but he liked his freedom too much to give it up. And he had no idea if he could beat Nemsemet. Really, he had no idea what the mummy actually [i]was[/i] and couldn't accurately gauge his chances.

The pounding on the door made him follow behind Rikive, scooping up her spare clothes with his own. Tony was at the bottom of the stairs, his Prada diaper bag in arm and presumably loaded up, staring at the door.

"I'll take that," Parry said, sliding all the clothes into the main opening, disappearing inside it without any sign of adding weight or width. He slid the bag over one shoulder, hanging opposite the scabard on his hip. Most of the hangers-on had left out the back door by the time he got downstairs- even pimple-faced teenage wizard.

Peeking through the peephole, Parry saw his "good friend" Flint, standing on his doorstep and waiting. Oh good, contact made and backup plan established.

Parry waved his hand, sliding open the locks on the door and opening it enough for the hard-boiled wizard to slide in to safety.

"Hey Flinty-poo! Come inside! I'll take three boxes Thin Mints, one of Samoas and all the Peanut Butter ones you've got."