Black City (A BLACK WINGS NOVEL)

by Christina Henry

  “Nobody swings the knife like family,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

  His blue eyes danced like the jewel I gripped in my hand. “So suspicious.”

  “I think I have earned the right to my suspicions. And you haven’t asked why I called you here at all.”

  He tilted his head to one side. “I had presumed that you wanted your king back, and called me to assist you in that matter. Since brother dearest is out of touch again.”

  “He’s not my king,” I said. “J.B. is my friend. And where does Lucifer go when he disappears?”

  Puck shook his head. “That is for him to tell.”

  “He’ll never tell me,” I said.

  “He will. Soon enough,” Puck said.

  “Can you see the future, too?”

  “Elements of it. Possibilities.”

  “Like Lucifer. In other words, nothing really useful.”

  “Would a crystal ball be a comfort to you?” Puck asked. “Would foreknowledge of your lover’s death have made it easier to bear?”

  “If I’d known about it, I could have tried to stop it,” I said.

  Puck tutted. “And you would have broken the rules. You know that once a death is foretold, it cannot be undone.”

  “Who sets these rules, anyway?” I said.

  “Now, that is knowledge you are definitely not permitted to have,” Puck said. He held out his hand to me. “Now, shall we go to fetch your king?”

  “I can’t go without the others,” I said.

  Puck frowned. “How many others?”

  “Five,” I said.

  “Titania may take it amiss if you arrive with an entourage. She may interpret it as a hostile act,” Puck warned.

  “I’ve already interpreted her kidnapping of J.B. as a hostile act, so that will make us even,” I said, and then asked the question I’d been afraid to ask. “How damaged is he?”

  Puck considered. “He is alive. I cannot speak to the quality of that life.”

  “Why didn’t you do anything?” I said. “You could stop her if you wanted to. You’re more powerful than she is.”

  “I could, but it doesn’t suit me to reveal my power to Titania at this time. And while one life may be essential to you, it is practically meaningless to me. I have witnessed more lives than you can number.”

  “And yet you came when I called,” I said.

  “So that you can rescue him,” Puck said. “It is nothing for me to take you there. It is even a benefit to me. You will owe me another boon for this.”

  “I want it clear right up front that none of these favors I owe you will involve me getting naked,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t waste such a powerful favor in such a manner,” Puck said. “Besides, if I really wanted you naked, I’m sure I could convince you.”

  “No, thanks,” I said, leaving the room as quickly as possible. “Why don’t you go in the living room, and I’ll get the others.”

  I went to the back door to call down to Samiel’s apartment and found Nathaniel sitting on the landing with his sword slung across his knees.

  “You didn’t trust me?” I said.

  Nathaniel got to his feet. “I did not trust him.”

  “Well, he said he would take us to the court,” I said. I went out on the landing so I could yell down the stairs. “Hey! You can come back now.”

  I turned around to say something else to Nathaniel but he was already gone. In the living room I heard the sound of glass shattering.

  “That can’t be good,” I said, sprinting down the hall.

  Puck and Nathaniel stood like gunslingers in the dining room, face-to-face several feet apart and both stock-still. Puck’s eyes blazed with light. At his feet were the shattered remains of a snow globe. The air in the room was thick with magic.

  “What have you done to him?” Puck said, and his voice was not the merry lilt that he usually possessed. It sounded like the voice of the earth itself, and I was afraid.

  “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to,” I said, and didn’t bother trying to pretend that I didn’t know what he was talking about.

  Footsteps sounded on the back stairs. Puck raised his hand and slammed the back door. I heard the others pounding on the wood, shouting my name.

  “What is happening?” Nathaniel said. His hand went to his sword. Puck looked at Nathaniel’s hand and it froze in place before it reached the hilt.

  I tried not to breathe too hard or otherwise draw Puck’s attention to me. I knew he was strong, but I’d had no idea how strong. He could stop my heart with a look.

  “I’d hidden him so carefully, and you’ve undone that work in a moment,” Puck said. “Worse, you left it at half, so that he cannot even defend himself from those who recognize him.”

  “I told you, I didn’t mean to,” I said. “It was an accident.”

  “What are you talking about?” Nathaniel said. “Tell me.”

  “Tell him,” I said to Puck. “You owe him that.”

  “This is your fault,” Puck said. “I should have known, daughter of Lucifer, that it was unsafe for him to be in your company.”

  “You cannot get angry with me for what I didn’t know,” I said. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s yours. What did you hide him for, anyway? Why not claim him in the first place?”

  “Tell me what is happening!” Nathaniel shouted, and the hot swirl of power in the room grew stronger. “Do not speak around me as if I were a child.”

  The glow in Puck’s eyes receded a bit, and they seemed to soften. “But you are a child, Nathaniel. My child. My son.”

  I’d thought Puck would ease into it, that he would not say it so baldly. The words seemed to hang in the air between them.

  “No,” Nathaniel said, shaking his head. “I am the only son of Zerachiel.”

  I approached Nathaniel carefully, reached for his shoulder.

  “I would not touch him right now,” Puck said.

  “I am the only son of Zerachiel,” Nathaniel repeated.

  “I had a feeling you’d take this hard,” I murmured. So much of Nathaniel’s self-worth related to his parentage.

  “You knew of this?” Nathaniel said softly.

  I eased around so that Nathaniel could see my face. “I didn’t know before we kissed. But I suspected later.”

  “And why did you not mention your suspicions?” he said, equally softly.

  It was as if Puck had ceased to exist, and there was only Nathaniel and me. I sensed I had to tread very carefully here.

  “I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to upset you if I was wrong,” I said.

  “You did not want to…upset me.”

  I’d miscalculated. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

  “When would it have been your secret to tell?” Nathaniel said, and his eyes were like frozen winter. “After I fucked you? Would it have been appropriate for you to explain then?”

  I felt sorry for Nathaniel, but it didn’t mean that I had to stand there and take shit from him or his jackass dad.

  “Listen, pal,” I said angrily. “You need to redirect your animosity here. I’m not the one who showed up to your mother in the guise of Zerachiel and then kept your identity hidden from you for thousands of years.”

  “You could have prepared me for this possibility,” Nathaniel said. “I am not stupid. I knew that something had changed after that spell.”

  “I will not be blamed for this,” I said. “How was I to know that you weren’t Zerachiel’s son? Oh, and just to be clear, there was never any guarantee that you were going to wind up in my bed, so don’t talk like it was a fait accompli.”

  “If I wanted to, I could have had you flat on your back and begging at any time,” Nathaniel said.

  I wanted to punch him. I really did. But he seemed kind of unstable at the moment, and I wasn’t sure what would happen. I didn’t want the whole building to blow up because I took offense at his attitude. But I would hit him later. I made a note of it.

  “Off
topic,” I said through gritted teeth. “But we will continue this discussion later. In the meantime, why don’t you ask your father why he never told you who you were?”

  Nathaniel visibly made an effort to calm himself, to focus on Puck.

  “If what you say is true, then why did you hide yourself from me?” Nathaniel said. “Why did you let me live so long believing I was someone else’s son?”

  I was vaguely aware of Samiel and Jude, Beezle and Chloe shouting outside. Whatever Puck had done, he’d effectively sealed us off from the rest of the building.

  “I do not have to answer to you,” Puck said, and he was so like Lucifer in that moment that I had no trouble believing they were siblings.

  “Goddamned right you do,” I said. “He knows he’s your child now.”

  “Which is only due to your actions. I had no intention of revealing his origins yet.”

  I was angry. Really angry. I was tired of being pushed around, blamed and generally treated like I was responsible for every wrong ever perpetuated in the universe. And it’s possible I was, as Nathaniel said, in the grip of my hormones.

  Which is why I kind of lost my mind for a second, and stomped over to Puck, and clocked him.

  I’m sure Puck could have stopped me from hitting him if he’d suspected that was what I was going to do. But he probably thought I had more self-preservation than that.

  The sound of my fist hitting his flesh seemed to echo through the house.

  There was a second where he was shocked, and staring, and then I was up against the wall with his forearm under my neck, and I was choking.

  “How dare you,” Puck said.

  I kicked him in the balls and he dropped me. I haven’t met a male of any species that could tolerate that. I landed more or less on my feet after a momentary stumble, and rubbed my throat.

  “You didn’t spend enough time researching me,” I said hoarsely. “I dare whatever the hell I want. You will tell Nathaniel why you did what you did, and then you will take us to Titania’s court.”

  “What makes you think I must comply with your demands? You are the one in debt to me,” Puck said. We were only inches apart from each other. I wondered what kind of effect nightfire would have on him.

  As it happened, I didn’t have to find out. Nathaniel’s sword came around his father’s throat.

  “You can do what Madeline says, or you can have your throat slit,” Nathaniel said.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Puck said. “Did not Lucifer warn you about destroying ancient creatures?”

  “I killed Azazel,” I said. “I diminished Oberon. Maybe you’ve noticed that I tend to do things without regard for the consequences.”

  “Oh, yes, you are Lucifer’s child,” Puck said bitterly. “Queen of all you survey. You have even taken my son in your thrall.”

  “Nathaniel is nobody’s thrall,” I said. “And I’m nobody’s queen.”

  “You will be if Lucifer has his way,” Puck said, then sighed tiredly. “Stand down, Nathaniel. I will tell you all.”

  Nathaniel looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. He pulled the sword away from Puck’s throat.

  Puck looked at me speculatively. “Would you have let him kill me?”

  I looked at him steadily, so he could see the truth in my eyes. “Maybe not over this. But if there ever comes a time when you are a threat to me and mine, I will eliminate you.”

  He shook his head in wonderment. “No wonder Lucifer has chosen you. Most creatures have more sense than to threaten me.”

  “Madeline fears nothing,” Nathaniel said with a touch of pride.

  That wasn’t true. I was afraid of lots of things—more things than I could count, actually. But I didn’t see any value in admitting that fear when everyone I encountered was a lot more strong and powerful than I was.

  Puck wandered over to my bookshelf, scanning the titles. “You should know that Lucifer and I do not get along.”

  “I noticed that,” I said. “Care to tell us why?”

  “Lucifer believes that as the firstborn, he has the right to rule all. Our siblings and I disagree.”

  “There are more of you?” I asked, alarmed. That was all I needed—more frighteningly powerful relatives running around.

  “Yes,” Puck said. “There are four of us.”

  “And one of you is in the lake,” Nathaniel said thoughtfully. “I could feel his presence.”

  “Why is your brother in my lake?” I said. I did not like this at all.

  Puck shrugged. “Alerian settled there some time ago—perhaps three hundred years? He said that he was going to rest for a while. None of us questioned him at the time, as he has a habit of slumbering through decades. But…”

  “But?” I asked.

  “I wonder if he sensed this area would become geographically important,” Puck said. “He is better than any of the rest of us at seeing the future. Alerian sees things more precisely.”

  “And now that the area is geographically important, he’s waking up to do…what?”

  “I imagine that he has intentions of some sort. I am not privy to them.”

  Awesome. Another immensely powerful being with intentions. “And your other sibling? Is that one hanging around here, too, hoping to take advantage?”

  “We do not speak much of Daharan,” Puck said. “He keeps to himself.”

  “Does he have plans for total world domination? Because if he does, I want to add him to the list.”

  “Very likely,” Puck said, and it was not a kind smile. “None of us seem to be able to leave well enough alone.”

  Lucifer had three siblings. One of them had me in his debt, and one of them was rising from Lake Michigan for his own fell purpose. It seemed I had another crisis looming on the horizon, but first we had to sort out the Nathaniel/Puck issue. The clock was ticking—for J.B. and for the city.

  “So you and Lucifer have some sibling rivalry issues,” I said. “What does that have to do with Nathaniel?”

  “Some time ago I considered that it would be wise to have a person well placed in Lucifer’s court who was loyal to me.”

  “I can see the wisdom of such a thing,” Nathaniel said. “But how does it benefit you when I did not know who you were or that I might be loyal to you?”

  “When the time was correct I would have revealed myself, and your legacy, to you.”

  “And you thought that I would immediately swear allegiance to you?” Nathaniel said skeptically.

  “You would have been unable to do otherwise. The time would have been right,” Puck said.

  “This plan seems like it has a lot of potential to backfire,” I said. There was something bugging me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. “What, exactly, is ‘the right time’? You let him believe he was Zerachiel’s son for thousands of years.”

  “When I was prepared to move against Lucifer,” Puck said vaguely.

  Move against Lucifer, I thought. Why was he being so circumspect? If he wanted a loyal son who would help him overthrow Lucifer, then why not raise that child as his own…And then everything slid into place.

  “You weren’t saving your revelation so you could have a loyal person in Lucifer’s court,” I said. I could feel my anger rising again. “You were never going to tell Nathaniel in the first place. You were just going to flip the switch.”

  Nathaniel looked from me to Puck. Puck’s expression was stony, revealing nothing.

  “Madeline, what do you mean by ‘flip the switch’?” Nathaniel said.

  “He’s made you a Manchurian candidate,” I said. “He was never going to tell you he was your father. When the time came, and you were close enough, he was going to unleash you on Lucifer. You’d never know why you killed him, but it wouldn’t matter because you’d probably die in the process anyway. I imagine that killing something as old as Lucifer would make a big explosion.”

  Puck nodded slightly.

  Nathaniel looked horrified. “You would set
me on Lord Lucifer as an assassin?”

  Puck wandered around the room, picking up my things, inspecting them, putting them down again. “Whatever my intentions, they have been undone by this woman.”

  “This does not change the fact that your intentions sucked,” I said. “Did you even care about him at all? Or was he nothing but a means to an end to you?”

  “How did you do it?” Puck asked curiously. “I would have said no power but mine could release his legacy.”

  “I take it by your avoidance of my question that you did not give a care about Nathaniel at all.”

  “I take it by your avoidance of my question that whatever occurred likely involved physical intimacy, because you possess an annoyingly human sense of modesty.”

  “What happens now?” Nathaniel said, breaking into my verbal tennis match with Puck. I’d almost forgotten he was in the room. “My legacy has been revealed, at least partially. Am I in danger? When next I see Lord Lucifer, will I attempt to kill him?”

  Puck gave Nathaniel a speculative look, like he was X-raying his son with his eyes. “The enchantment I laid on you seems to have changed. Really, Madeline. It is astounding that you managed to undo thousands of years of planning in a moment.”

  “Will I attempt to kill Lucifer?” Nathaniel asked urgently.

  Puck shook his head, but he seemed resigned instead of especially angry. I did not trust that. Puck was a mystery to me, like Lucifer, and Lucifer liked to play the long game. If Puck was giving up on Nathaniel as Lucifer’s killer, then he must be anticipating some other benefit from the situation.

  “Guess you’ll have to murder your brother yourself,” I said.

  “You don’t seem especially grieved by the prospect, considering we are related to you,” Puck said.

  “If I’m lucky, the two of you will destroy each other and then I won’t have to deal with either of you anymore,” I said.

  Puck gave a brief laugh. “If the two of us were gone, then Daharan and Alerian would remain. Don’t think that either of them would permit you any peace. Any descendant of Lucifer’s—or mine—would attract their attention.”

  “So what about Nathaniel, then? Are you just going to leave him like this, half-baked? What if your enemies recognize him? Will he be able to defend himself?”