Gray clouds drifted lazily over the city, fat with rain. Face to the sky, Richard frowned at the oncoming end of a beautiful day. “How do you always know?” he asked, turning to the young woman holding his arm in one hand and an umbrella in the other. “It’s been sunny all week. I even checked the forecast this time!”

The young woman, Janet, smirked and tossed her hair–the effect somewhat ruined by the short cut of her black locks. “It’s just a talent.” She pulled on his arm a little, forcing Richard to start walking again. With her other hand, she tapped her umbrella against a sizable lump under the back of her boyfriend’s sweater. “And you know it, too.”

Richard sighed and reached down the back of his shirt to pull out an umbrella of his own. He matched her victorious smirk with a tired smile. “Well, you’ve trained me well, after all.”

“You bet!” Janet chirped. “Come on, a walk in the park is a bust, but you still owe me an outing. Let’s hit somewhere nice for lunch.”

“Yes ma’am.” Richard sighed, but he was smiling. “Where to, then?” Janet’s gazed switched back and forth. The streets leading to the park were dominated by office buildings and the lucky fast food chain. Letting her eyes drift back and forth wasn’t  going to find her anywhere good to eat, but it filled the time and fostered Richard’s nervousness. The streets were emptying as the sky grew darker, workers on break and park-goers returning to their homes, but she spotted a particular man standing in place. Clothes worn and patched, his face scruffy, he stared ruefully at the heavy clouds. Absently, he shuffled the old backpack on his shoulders to free the hood of his jacket. A surge of pity moved her. Janet let go of Richard’s arm and ignored his confusion.

The homeless man looked away from the sky as the young woman approached. “Here.” His expression turned baffled when she handed him a flower-speckled umbrella.

“Oh,” he took a step back. “Thank-you, but I couldn’t possibly-”

Janet cut him off, pushing the umbrella against him. “Don’t worry about it, it’s cheap,” she stopped, winced, and tried again. “I mean, my boyfriend brought an umbrella too, so this way he and I can share it, all lovey-dovey. Please! You’re practically doing me a favor!” She got her rhythm back, smiling brilliantly.

The man laughed and gently took the umbrella from her. “Well, happy to oblige, then.” He tugged the rim of his hood like a man doffing his top hat, flashing what might favorably be called a roguish smile. Janet sealed her lips, but for some reason the giggles erupted anyway. The man’s grin only widened. “It has been a pleasure madame. May you have a wonderful day.” He retreated as Richard finally arrived to retake his girlfriend’s hand. It wasn’t exactly a possessive gesture, but it was a man’s prerogative to get a little nervous when another man smiled at his lady like that. The homeless man favored the boyfriend with a matching grin before he turned around. “I’d say the same to your, sir, but you’re quite lucky enough already.” Janet laughed again and Richard relaxed, their hands entwined, and pretty soon their attention was entirely on each other.

The only one looking at the homeless man, who had hardly moved twenty feet, was the barely there owl perched atop Janet’s shoulder. “No worries, little one,” the man whispered in Words that were more than words. “You’re not the one I’m looking for.” The owl hooted, content, and faded from view entirely.

“Then what are you looking for?” The man did not flinch at the presence at his back. He did not even need to turn around to imagine him: black. Black clothes, black glasses, black hair cut short. Only a flash of white, ridging the skin just underneath the glasses, usually lost in shadow.

“You’ve been studying the Language, Ed,” he replied, nodding to himself. His smile remained, turned approving. The air became decidedly more humid, but not too far from the kind of air you would expect before a rain.

“I will ask one more time,” Edward Hayes said again. “What are you looking for in my city?”

“Oh, you know, the usual bad juju,” the man said. “Just a couple demons–little things, I promise! Otherwise I would have come to you first.” The grin turned sly. “Unless you wanted to try a team-up.” He turned around to face an empty street. His expression fell flat, eyes blinking. “I can’t believe he did that. To me!” The man known round the world as the Witch, sighed. “Well, he certainly won’t ruin my day! I have a new umbrella!” He marched for a nearby alley proudly, his new acquisition a-twirl  in his hands, and quite disappeared himself.