“Maybe, maybe not. Caleb’s been bitching up a storm, though. He’s been demanding that Victor answer to accusations of behavior unbecoming a member of the Choir. If you ask me, that boy has balls, standing up against his own people like that. The Choir doesn’t seem to want to smack him down, either. It’s weird, Zay, it’s fucking strange.”
I grunted and didn’t answer. The reason they were so unwilling to act against Caleb was because he was one of the few survivors of the Celestial War, and he was one of the members of the Independent Choir that had penetrated all the layers of Hell and killed Lucifer himself. Even a monolithic force like the Choir would have a problem when one of their heroes spoke against them.
“Even with Caleb being a pain in their asses, they’re still getting ready to kick our asses. Last we saw, they were starting full mobilization. The Council is standing firm but we’ve got just under a month left before their time limit expires.” Kibs kicked his heels back into the bed. “Even if all of the Houses turn out their entire trained forces, you’re still never going to win this, Zay. You’re just going to turn this world into a smoking pit, just like the First Circle. What the fuck are you even fighting for?”
I sighed. “Like I know the answer to that? I’m just fighting to stay alive.”
“That’s the best reason I’ve heard so far.”
We sat in silence for some time. Fighting the Choir was a losing proposition, that wasn’t in question. They wanted me to die, so I would fight them to live. We’d all fight them to live. I’d do anything in my power to stop them from killing me. “In fact, I’d kill them all,” I said.
“Sorry?”
“Just thinking to myself. I’d fight them to the point of annihilation to stay alive, Kibs. How far would you go?”
“Shit, Zay, I’m an imp. We’re non-combatants.”
“You’re as dead as the rest of us, if they win,” I said.
He shook his head. “We just phase out. The archons won’t come after us. We’ll find another place to live. The Chairman’s already decided that much. We’re not fighters, Zay. We’re a race of fucking cowards and sneaks.”
“Can’t go against him?”
“Won’t go against him.” Kibs fixed me with his gaze. “If Opheran told you to fight, you’d fight, wouldn’t you? You’d run if he told you to run, right?”
“I suppose I would.”
“Same deal for us. The Chairman knows what’s what. I’m not going to risk it, even for him.”
“Fair enough, Kibs. But tell me, what else has been going on here while I was out? Did House Lucifer ever get their shit together?”
He chuckled. “In a manner of speaking. One of their Princes finally snapped about six weeks ago and fucking strangled the other one to death. It took another month for all of the lurking betrayals and protestations of undying loyalty to shake out, but now they’re focused again. Their new High Prince is Julentain, and unfortunately for you, he’s the one who kept bitching at you during that High Council meeting. On the bright side, he’s got better things to worry about than avenging his cousin.”
“Oh, great, he’s related to Azriphel?”
“Yeah, which shouldn’t surprise you, dumbass. You know Lucifer’s the most inbred House of all of them. Purity of their lineage and all that shit.”
“No wonder Azriphel was nuts.”
“Not as nuts as you’d like to believe. You know there are still a sizable percentage of demons out there who think he was doing the right thing.”
I sighed. “What else? Is Belphagor still running the show?”
“They seem to be, and no one else seems to be interested. It’s odd, but you know what, it’s not a bad thing. They think harder than any other House, and they think with their heads, not their hearts, and definitely not with their nads like you Asmodeus types.”
“I resent that.”
“But you don’t deny it.” Kibs chuckled. “I remember your college days, Zay. You were all about the girls, at the ripe age of twelve.”
“I was a little precocious, wasn’t I?”
“It worked.”
“Yes. Yes, it did.” I grinned, but then let it fade. “When I was that age, I never thought I’d be looking at the end of the world. Don’t tell me it’s not the end of the world, Kibs. It might not be for you, but it is for us, for humans, maybe even for the angels too if we leave a smoking wreck of a world behind. We don’t have a world to escape to anymore. They’ve pushed us up against a wall here.”
“I think you’re underestimating what’ll happen,” Kibs said quietly. “You’ve never seen an actual war, much less the Celestial War. It started dirty, and it got so much worse before it got better. What Victor did to you? Both Choir and Host did it to each other. Hell, they did worse than that. Nothing you’re ever taught or told about, but we remember. We remember what happened on those battlefields.”
“Something in your tone tells me I don’t want to know.”
“You don’t. But, Zay, you said you’d do anything? I wonder how far you’d actually go. You’re still a kid. I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but reconsidered. Kibs was a friend, as far as an imp could be considered a friend, but there was a lot I had never asked him. “How old are you, Kibs?”
“Eight hundred and seventy something, I think. I stopped keeping track decades ago.” He kicked his heels against the bed. “I know where you’re going with this, Zay. I’m not going to tell you any fucking war stories. I don’t want to remember most of it.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t know. Shit, Zay, we prefer it that way. I’m considered a young imp, too. The Chairman’s at least twice my age. We remember the Celestial War, and that’s why we created and enforced the Pact, so we never have to remember another one. That’s why we almost killed you back then. If we had known this sort of shit was going to happen, we probably wouldn’t have let you talk your way out of it.”
“Why aren’t you trying to kill the shitheads in the Choir who are prosecuting this war? I’m kind of offended by that.”
Kibs sighed. “The Syndicate and the Consortium police their own. The Syndicate isn’t as strong as we are. They don’t have the strength to kill so many of their own people.”
“The strength? Or the will?”
“Nail on the fucking head.”
“So what can I do?”
The imp’s cat-like eyes fixed on mine. He stood up and walked across the blankets, right up to me, and put a tiny hand on my shoulder. “Just like you said, my young friend. You’ll do anything you need to do. The Choir’s never going to know what hit them.”
I considered that for a moment and nodded. “You’re right. I’m going to do what I need to do. Can you get Tink for me?”
The imp grinned so wide, I was afraid the top of his head would fall off. “Yeah. I’ll do that. And you’ll owe me a beer.”
I lifted a hand, made a fist. He raised his own little clawed hand and punched mine. “You got it, Kibs.”
It took nearly ten minutes for Tink to show back up. I spent that time taking stock of my physical condition. There were scars all over my body where Victor had cut me, but those would fade with time and application of ichor. Some of them were even impressive enough to keep. The worst spots were where his purity had pooled, in some places under my skin. Those areas were sunken pockmarks. I left them alone. While I trusted that Hikari and Tink had eliminated the purity, I didn’t want to take any risks. Even a few cells could trigger a reaction that would take a chunk out of me. Letting my human side heal those bits naturally would be for the best.
My muscles were weak after spending two months in bed. Gathering the strength to move around would be my top priority. As a test, I pumped ichor down my left arm. My muscles seized up for an agonizing moment, then started to relax. The other arm followed, then each leg in turn. If I exercised them like that each day, I’d be fine within a week.
My vision started to blur and fade as if I had burned off too much ichor. I automatically started to convert my blood into ichor, maintaining the balance so important to a halfblood. After a few seconds of effort, I realized something was wrong. The conversion rate was so slow, it was barely any better than my natural rate of regeneration.
My hands went cold. Without the ability to convert back and forth as needed, I’d have a lot of trouble dealing with any situations requiring extensive use of my demonic abilities. I attempted the conversion in the other direction, from ichor into blood. My vision blurred again as a sizable dollop converted. If one direction worked, but the other didn’t, there must have been some sort of lingering magic effect from the spells preventing me from producing ichor.
“What do you want now, demon?”
I looked up and took a deep breath. “Sorry. I have a question or three for you.”
Tink walked to the edge of my bed. “I suppose I can spare a few minutes. Opheran’s on the way. So is Hikari. So is an army of doctors.”
I shuddered. “Lock the door so none of them can get in. Especially the doctors.”
She snorted, but did lock the door, much to my surprise. “Just remember if you try anything, I’ve got a knife and no witnesses.”
“First question, is there anything I should know before they get here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Any surprises I should be aware of?”
She shook her head, frowning at me. “I can't think of anything. Aside from Hikari being eternally pissed off, at least. She’s been a miserable bitch all this time. I don’t blame you for wanting to lock her out. I may be a bitch, but at least I’m not miserable about it. I enjoy it too much.”
“Fine. Second question, you two cast some sort of spell that prevented me from producing ichor, right? How long is it going to last?”
“What do you mean? We stopped it a while ago.”
“Are there any aftereffects?”
She shook her head. “None that would persist this long. Why?”
I told her. She swore. “I don’t get that, demon. There shouldn’t be anything like that happening. I suppose there could be some long-term effects that we didn’t anticipate. Look, if it sticks around, let me know and I’ll cast a diagnostic spell. Can’t do it now, there’s not enough time before you get assholes hammering your door down.”
“Fair enough. Third question, where’s Caleb?”
“I don’t know. They won’t let him come here.” Her tone was flat.
This time, it was my turn to swear. “We have to take care of that. How many days do we have until the third Horseman shows up? Four? Five?”
“Three. Believe me, I’ve been making a stink about it to Opheran. He says not to worry about it, but he always turns sideways when he talks to me now. I don’t trust him. He’s shifty and nervous.”
“He doesn’t want you to kick him again.”
“I suppose.”
“What do you think about the upcoming Horseman?”
She shrugged. “Famine, if I remember my eschatology correctly. I think we have to be more careful this time. Choosing not to choose would probably be a bad idea. Look where it got us with War.”
“Any ideas?”
“A few. Nothing worthwhile.”
I sighed and looked up at her. Her lips immediately turned down in a scowl. “Don’t look at me like that,” I said. “I’ve had a bad enough time lately. Don’t need you getting mad at me just for looking at you.”
“I wasn’t getting mad at you for looking at me. I’m mad about how you needed to go through all this because of that bitch.”
“I don’t want to start that argument again.”
“Tough. You made the choice. It’s your choice to make. But, I’m going to tell you again, it’s a stupid choice, demon. She’s been nothing but miserable for you ever since you two moved in together. I don’t think you should force yourself to be miserable just because she’s jealous of me.”
“Jealous.”
Tink nodded. “You know it.”
“I talked with Kibs.”
“I figured you would.”
“He asked me why I was fighting against this. It would be easier to give up on this one, you know. If I surrender myself, maybe the Choir will back down. It’ll let people survive. A lot of people. I asked myself how far I’d go in this fight. I said I’d do whatever it takes. Fighting for my life, you know. Maybe I need to fight for everyone else’s lives. Maybe I need to consider giving my life for everyone else’s.”
“What a crock of shit.” I hadn’t been able to look her in the eye, but her words, dripping with disdain, caused my head to snap back up. “Demon, don’t be such a coward. That’s the easy way out. You can give yourself up, be tortured, die in fucking agony, and it’s not going to stop the Choir from running over all of your people. The only way you’re going to do a damn thing about it is to fight.”
Her eyes were hard and cold and all I could do was nod. “If sacrificing myself would save everyone else, I’d do it. But, you’re right. They’re going to fight no matter what I do. I just wish there was an easier way out of this.”
“Everyone wishes it was easier. I wish my life had been easier. I wish my parents had been able to live full lives and be a part of mine to this day. There were days where I just wanted to give up. I fought, though, and you know what happened. You were a part of it. You helped me stand up and fight when I needed it most.”
“I know. Every once in a while, you inspire me, Tink. That’s why I’m going to do this.”
“What-“
I forced a little ichor to my right hand, allowing the flesh to ripple and transform. Claws extended from the tips of each finger, and I dragged one sharp tip across my left palm, allowing ichor to pool there. I grabbed her left hand and dragged a claw across her palm. Before she could react to the pain, I grabbed her hand with mine, clasping palm to palm, forcing our blood together. She inhaled sharply and her hand tightened on mine.
“By my blood, I bind you,” I said. “By my blood, I invoke a contract.”
“You son of a-”
“By my blood, I bind you. By my blood, I invoke your cooperation.”
“That’s not-“
“By my blood, I bind you. By my blood, I invoke our partnership.”
“What are you trying to do?” She tried to make the words sharp, but only ended up sounding confused.
“Witness,” I whispered.
Kibs popped up through the floor, a grin on his face. “I like what I’m hearing here. So, sweetcheeks, how about it? You ready to sign on the dotted line?”
“He’s forcing me into a contract!” she protested.
“Holy shit, no way!” Kibs snickered. “That doesn’t sound familiar at all!”
“Shit, that’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, my bonnie wee lass,” I said. “I don’t think we need to worry about the actual contract terms, since they’ve always been the same. What do you think?”
Tink nodded. “I see no reason to change things.”
“Well, if you both agree, let’s hear it.”
I looked her in the eye. “I, Isaiah Bright, do swear to abide by the terms of this contract.”
She looked straight back down at me. “I, Annabell Glass, do swear to abide by the terms of this contract, you asshole.”
“Witnessed!”
I felt a sense of familiar warmth between our hands. Without even looking, I knew that our blood had mixed, the way it used to. Neither of us looked away, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
Nothing could last forever, though. “You know she’s going to kill you,” Tink finally said. “And she will find out. You can’t hide this from her forever.”
“Maybe. I don’t plan to tell her. Are you?”
“Hell no. You aren’t going to tell anyone, are you, Kibs? Because if you did, I’d stick you in a blender, face first.”
Kibs shook his head and brushed off
his lapels. “Of course not. Confidentiality is a hallmark of Consortium services. Never shall it pass my lips.”
“The only one I want to know is Caleb,” I said.
“Yeah, I agree,” she said. “But you know she’ll find out. What do you plan on doing when that happens?”
“Same thing I do every time,” I said. “Deal with it as it comes.”
She snorted and pulled her hand free of mine, then doodled a rune on her palm. A flash of magic sealed her palm. I used my ichor to seal my own wound, then lay back and let my head hit the pillow. “Oh my,” I said. “Looks like I’ve overtired myself. I guess everyone out there waiting for me to wake up will just need to wait a little longer.”
“You’re terrible.”
“Can you blame me?”
She studied me as she used another spell to clean her hands. “Considering the circumstances, I can’t. But you can be sure that she’s going to march right in here and shake you until you wake up, doctors and Princes be damned.”
I let my eyes close. My eyelids were heavy. I hadn’t actually been joking about tiring myself out. “Just like everything else, I’ll deal with it when it comes up.”
She muttered something under her breath. I heard the click of the door unlocking, and then sliding shut. Before too long, I didn’t hear anything at all.
Chapter Twelve
* * *
I pushed the door to the cafe open, noting how many pairs of eyes turned to me upon my entrance. At least six people glanced at me, and five of them looked away. The sixth pair was gray with just a hint of silver. Caleb lifted his hand in greeting and I shuffled over to his table, Tink following quietly behind me.
“Aren’t you supposed to put your back to a corner or something?” Caleb asked, cracking a small smile as we both sat down.
I shrugged. “If they figure out we’re here, they’ll just hammer the entire building to the ground. Maybe the town too.”
“Security’s a bit tight,” Tink said.
“You’re telling me. Opheran himself double-checked me,” Caleb said. “It’s a good thing we’ve met before. I wouldn’t want to go up against him.”
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