by Sara Snow
“Come in,” I called, smoothing my hair down for whatever minion was waiting outside my door.
I was surprised when the door opened and Paimon himself stepped into the room. I quickly jumped up, fixing the clothes that I hadn’t changed out of since yesterday, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“Good morning, Georgia,” he said, his voice soft and pleasant. “Another good night’s sleep, I presume?”
“Ah! Uh, yeah! It was good. Thanks,” I said nervously.
His presence unnerved me, but I couldn’t let him know it, his tall, imposing form and deep red eyes still setting off my fight or flight reflex. I steeled myself against that, shoving down the fear to keep it hidden.
“I’m glad to hear it. I wanted to inform you personally of the banquet tomorrow night,” he said.
“The banquet?”
“A celebration,” he said with that grisly smile. “To welcome you formally into the Tenebris. We’ll gather in the main hall and drink a toast to our newest member at sundown. What do you think?”
“Wow, that sounds like a lot,” I said truthfully. I tried to make my tone light and joking. “It’s just me, no need to pull out all the stops.”
“Ah, don’t be modest, Georgia! You’re my daughter, your return is cause for celebration!” he said with thunderous laughter. “I will have all of my subjects know how glad I am to have my daughter with me, and what’s more, I will have them recognize their newest leader. Surely that’s cause for a feast, yes?”
It made my stomach churn to think of myself as a leader here. Standing next to Paimon and the others as an equal sounded horrifying, even if it was only to pretend for a banquet. The thought was so all-encompassing that I could hardly ignore it.
Paimon seemed to sense my hesitation and I quickly reminded myself that I couldn’t drop my enthusiasm in front of him and I hurried to fake enthusiasm.
“You’re right,” I said. “This is just all so overwhelming and exciting, I’m just not used to it. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be anxious, my Georgia. Here, let me show you something.”
Paimon placed his arm around me, his hand rubbing my shoulder as he guided me over to stand in front of the TV. He picked up the remote and switched it on. The channel was the same as before—a news station that I couldn’t identify broadcasting a series of images as a frantic reporter spoke over them. This time, there were clips of skyscrapers toppling in hurricane-force winds, rainstorms flooding and flattening fields and neighborhoods, and swarms of huge human-faced insects and locusts just like the ones we’d seen on the way back from El Paso circling the skies and razing through towns leaving nothing in their wake. Fires overtook farm fields and cities crumbled beneath flames.
My eyes widened and I shook uncontrollably, unable to stop myself. I took a few steps backward as Paimon released his grasp. I sat on the bed before my knees could give out under me, gaze fixed on the screen. Paimon watched me, his eyebrows drawn together in what almost looked like concern to me.
“Georgia…? Is everything alright?” he asked in a gentle voice.
“I’m sorry. Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, trying to get myself under control again. “This is just so much, and it’s all happening so fast. I’m nervous.” I hoped that telling a few half-truths that seemed honest would ensure that he believed that I really was just overwhelmed by the prospect of ruling with him. I had to sell it. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
Paimon’s face softened like I’d never seen it before. He stepped over to me, surprising me when he sat down on the bed next to me.
“I can’t lie, Georgia. This task ahead of us will not be easy. We are powerful, but the obstacles we must surmount will be great. But with you at our sides, we will all be stronger than ever. There is no way you could disappoint me.” He put his hand comfortingly on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze with those graceful pale fingers.
I had to remember who he was, because for a second he almost felt fatherly. No parent until Kingston had ever cared about me or taken the time to comfort me in my life, and the way Paimon did it now made me feel so welcomed, even though I knew it was probably just a trick to get me to stay. I couldn’t let myself feel safe with him. If I wavered now, it would all be over for the Venandi. I needed to stay strong and remember the plan.
“Thank you, that’s… that’s nice to hear,” I said. It was technically the truth.
He looked back at the TV. “When we strike, Georgia, the humans will look to us as saviors. These natural disasters—we’ll crush them all right before the mortals’ very eyes and they’ll look to us as gods and protectors. You will be one of the saviors that they will revere.”
The thought weighed heavily on me. “What then?”
“Then we rule them, Georgia. Humans were born to be led. They’ll always look to their false gods for guidance. Why shouldn’t that be us?” He seemed incredibly pleased by the idea, becoming excited. “If God can create humans so that he can be worshipped, why can’t we take some of that worship for ourselves? Is that really any more selfish than what He did? What’s so special about God? Are we not also powerful and worthy of praise?” he asked, passion bubbling up inside him. “They will give us whatever we want, do anything we want, say whatever we want. Who wouldn’t want to be served like that?”
Me, I thought.
I just nodded as he calmed down, returning to his normally graceful and stoic self. He rose from the bed, making his way over to the door. “I know this is a lot. I will give you some time to process all of this. I look forward to tomorrow night, Georgia. It will be a celebration like you’ve never seen before,” he said with a smile as he stepped out, shutting it behind him.
My eyes were immediately drawn back to the TV, the terrifying destruction still playing in a loop as the frantic reporter commented on it. This was about to get serious, and I only hoped that I was going to be strong enough to stop it.
Paimon
I shut the door to Georgia’s chamber behind me, a grimace overtaking my face when I was finally away from her. I could still feel the disgusting air of humanity lingering on my hand where I’d touched her, wiping it frantically on my robes, hoping to be rid of it. These humans were so sickening. Even her demonic blood couldn’t wash away the stench of humanity on her. The feeling brought to my mind the memory of taking her human mother in order to create her and made my stomach lurch, something that was particularly hard to inflict upon me.
The sooner I could have these disgusting creatures under my rule the better. When Georgia swore her allegiance to me at the banquet, it would finally come together. As long as I could keep playing the charming, loving father until then, I could see no way in which my plan could fail, though perhaps I should have held a bit more of my plan back from her. I had to admit that I was a bit impassioned in my explanation, but I hoped that I didn’t give away too much too quickly or overwhelm her with enthusiasm.
I made a mental note for later to keep calmer, more level. The fatherly charm was going to be the secret to keeping her close, not the passion. A quote came to my head from a human philosopher who I’d never particularly liked, though I felt was quite apt in this situation. “Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question.” I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at how relevant it was to me at that moment.
I’ll have to thank Albert Camus for that one if I ever have the displeasure of meeting him in Hell.
Carter
As soon as Paimon had left Georgia’s room, I quickly shifted back to normal, finding myself standing in the middle of the room. Georgia met me with horrified eyes.
“Did you see the screen?” she asked gravely. “He’s been showing me that same channel since I got here.”
I nodded. “None of that was happening when I got here, so I assume none of it is happening right now. I don’t know how long that will be true for if Paimon gets you to pledge your life to him.”
“He won’t. I can’t. I’ll put it off a
s long as I can,” she said.
“I don’t think you’ll have much of a choice, Georgia. This celebration seems like a trick. If Paimon makes you swear your allegiance at this banquet, you won’t be able to leave anymore. You’ll be bound by the oath. We have to organize before that.”
“So let’s go,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Oh, Georgia. If only we could.
“I’d love to, Georgia, but it’s not that simple. We still need more information about the dagger. We have to figure out more about where to find the other pieces. This is going to be the secret to taking Paimon down, and we have to find out as much as we can before it’s too late.”
Her violet eyes cast downward to the floor. She seemed to understand what had to happen next. The stakes had shifted and the clock was ticking. The only thing I could do now was go back to the warehouse to alert the others and find a way to get them in so that we could stop this banquet in its tracks.
She reached out for me, taking my hand in hers. I squeezed it tightly. “I’m sorry Georgia. You know I have to go and warn the others.”
“I know,” she said with a nod. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Gently tugging my hand, she pulled me close from her seat on the bed, wrapping her arms around my waist, burying her head against my chest. She held on so tightly that I didn’t know how I’d ever get her off. I didn’t want to, though. I returned her hug, stroking her soft hair as comfortingly as I could.
“Olympia is working on a spell that will let her effortlessly navigate this place. Once she has it down, we’ll all be able to come and get you out before anything happens with Paimon. Then we can grab the scroll and the blade and get the hell out of here. But we have to know what to do with the blade before we can make any more moves. It’s useless to us without more information.”
She nodded, and I knew she understood, but that didn’t make it hurt any less to have to abandon her like this. But she and I would both do what we had to to make sure our mission was successful.
“I know it doesn’t ever get any better when people leave you, but you know I’ll be back for you. I’ll never let anything happen to you,” I said. “I love you, Georgia.”
I could feel her trembling in my arms, my shirt wet with tears. It killed me to see her like this, but we both knew what we had to do.
“We’ll be here before the banquet to get you out. We won’t let Paimon make you swear anything, I promise. Just don’t swear to anything. I don’t know what trick he’ll try to pull, but whatever it is, it’ll be binding even if you don’t mean it. He’ll find a way—a spell or something. Just wait until we get here for you,” I told her, squeezing her hard.
I let myself linger, clinging to her until it was time to go and I took my smoke stone in my hand. As I disappeared into smoke, I turned for one last look to see my sweet Georgia, eyes rimmed red as she watched her father’s intended destruction play out on the TV.
I was grateful that at that moment I didn’t have hands. They would have been trembling with her.
16
Olympia
I’d been more nervous than ever since Georgia had gone off to Paimon’s palace. When I wasn’t brewing potions or coming up with potentially useful spells in preparation for the inevitable showdown that would happen with the Tenebris, I was fidgeting with my scrying mirror, trying to resist the urge to check in on Georgia. In the moments when I did find myself giving in to that compulsion, I only made myself even more nervous.
I knew that Georgia was stronger than ever—she had proved that on the way back from El Paso, and every time I saw her in my mirror, I could feel that her strength was growing. But Paimon’s palace was full of magic that was working against her, and even though Carter and I had seemingly cracked the code to his spell that kept Georgia in the vicinity of her room, there was no way for me to know what sort of other magic could be working against her. Paimon was tricky, and I hated the thought of her being left there on her own.
Since Carter had returned earlier in the afternoon and told us of the upcoming banquet, I found myself more and more restless, finding ways to occupy myself near constantly. I was starting to go out of my mind a bit, so I dug through my old trunk, finding a small trinket that I hadn’t had to use in quite a bit of time—a palm-sized figurine that vaguely resembled the Venus of Willendorf. I blew a cloud of dust from its surface, grabbing a cloth to wipe any grime from the inscribed runes along the back.
I set it in front of me, whispering the enchanting words that I had almost forgotten, watching the runes glow dully before slowly getting brighter, spreading to illuminate where the doll’s eyes would be. A stronger aura began to emanate from the doll, creating a disk of energy that began to rise, hovering just in front of my face. I whispered my directions to it and watched various images swirl around the surface of the disk as it changed rapidly until finally, three faces that I recognized appeared in the disk like a sort of communication screen, greeting me with smiles.
“Hello, Olympia,” my sister witch Anisa said from the middle.
“Sisters!” I cried out excitedly. “It’s been so long!”
“Too long,” Anisa responded. “How have things been?”
“I wish I could say they were better, but things are becoming serious with the Tenebris. I wanted to ask a few questions if I could,” I told them.
“The Tenebris is getting stronger?” My other sister Elvire asked anxiously from Anisa’s left.
I nodded, my lips tightened into a line.
“We should have known it would be coming sooner than we thought,” our third, much younger sister Zafira said from the right, addressing the other two.
“So should we have,” I agreed. “We have someone smuggling information out to us from Paimon’s palace right now and we think that the demon kings are going to use natural disasters to destroy significant portions of the world before stopping them and making themselves out to be saviors. I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about fighting the weather changes that’ll come from that so that we can maybe keep those disasters at bay while we fight them off.”
The three looked at each other, their eyes widened.
Elvire turned to me. “We thought we had detected some sort of magic in the atmosphere brewing up a storm earlier today, but it was so faint we didn’t think anything of it. That must be the start to what you’re referring to. If they really do intend to take the world by natural disaster, I’m afraid they might already be starting.”
Shit, already?
“We can do our best to find some sort of way to stop the weather changes, but you’ll be better off killing them at the source if you can,” Anisa said.
“That’s the plan, but this is a demon king we’re talking about. It’s not going to be easy,” I explained.
The three nodded gravely. “Let us brainstorm. We’ll do what we can. In the meantime, you should decide what to do on your end about the source,” Zafira said.
I couldn’t help but laugh a bit, holding up several of the small glass bottles with potions I’d been brewing nonstop since I got the scoop on the Tenebris. “Don’t worry, that’s all I’ve been doing,” I said. “Sister Fatima gave me some new, more aggressive combat potions yesterday. We’ll be going to hopefully stop the source tomorrow night, so… Wish us luck, I guess.”
“Always keeping your hands busy, Olympia,” Anisa commented lovingly. “We’ll let you know what we find. Good luck to you and your team.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Oh, and one last thing! Do any of you know any good invisibility spells?”
Elvire laughed behind her hand. “Of course, what kind of witch doesn’t know at least one?”
“Me, I guess,” I pouted. “I always use potions for that.”
“Who taught you that, Marjorie? Her methods are so last century, Olympia,” she teased. “I’ll dig up a guide and send it along to you.”
“I appreciate it, thanks,” I said, and with a wave of my hand over t
he doll, the disk of energy that had just displayed their faces dissipated into thin air, the light slowly fading from the totem until it was nothing more than a ceramic figure again.
Their help made me feel confident, but I knew there was still a lot of work to be done. At the very least, I figured I should go tell the others that things were already heating up in the sky.
I’m sure that’ll put everyone in a good mood… I thought sarcastically.
Jacob
Jose and I had been training almost nonstop since he asked me and Eli to teach him to fight. I was surprised—for a kid whose power was having visions come to him in his dreams, he was surprisingly resilient. I almost didn’t believe him and Eli when they told me he’d never been taught to fight before. He caught on quickly and took instruction well and was stronger than he looked. It was pretty impressive, and I was glad to be able to help him step up his hunting skills.
Eli was sitting on a bench recovering from a particularly tiring lesson on hand-to-hand combat. I may have landed one too many good hits on him before he decided our demonstration was enough and told Jose to go at me, practicing what he learned.
Everything was going great, and Eli looked like he was about to tag me out so he could pick apart Jose’s form. Then Carter came rushing in, stepping to exchange a few words with Eli that I couldn’t hear as Jose and I continued to exchange blows. I felt my chest growing warm, Carter’s presence annoying the hell out of me. I felt myself punch a bit too hard, hitting Jose right in the stomach a little harder than I should have.
“Shit, sorry, Jose!” I said, running over to check on him. “You good?”
I was surprised when he nailed me with a pretty gnarly gut punch of his own as I got close to him. I clutched my stomach, falling to a knee.
“Never let your guard down around your enemy,” Jose wheezed with a laugh as he tried to get his breath back.
