I cleared my throat and she finally looked up, smiling. “Justice Czynri. Is the meeting already done?”
“Far from it. Leid wants Naberius up here.”
She frowned. “Getting messy?”
“Not yet, but we’ll see.”
She placed her finger on a rune across Hell’s switchboard, located on the left side of her desk. Heaven and Hell communicated by telepathic technology called Aeon. It worked through brainwave frequencies, networking them like telephone lines.
Nephilim said nothing for a moment, staring ahead. Then she blinked, removing her finger. “He’s on his way.”
“Thanks.”
As I left her desk, she called, “Wait, Alezair.”
I stopped, turning back.
Nephilim was holding something out to me. My heart sank.
“No thanks.”
“I only gave you two hundred,” she said. “It’s the lightest load because you’re my favorite.”
“Only two hundred? It’s three in the afternoon.” I snatched the folder teeming with soulcases, trying not to scowl.
Nephilim sighed. “Don’t get miffed with me; I just work here.”
“What are we even paying our processors for?”
“We’re short a few. The Courts are filling their positions, but for now we’ll just have to make do.”
Processors were angels and demons hired to analyze psi-essence data the Court received whenever someone died. Each case was converted into batch data files and reviewed by them, who then determined where the tally went. Print form went to us after analog searches of key codes were siphoned out, making the results crystal clear. We were only supposed to receive unverified soulcases if the processors couldn’t decide which domain earned the tally; when the mark wasn’t so cut and dry. But I’d had to do over a thousand singlehandedly this week. It was bullshit.
Adrial appeared then, and Nephilim handed him another folder. He opened it up, and his eyes almost popped out of his head.
“Five hundred?!” he exclaimed.
Ouch. Adrial must have been her least favorite.
Nephilim got up from her seat with a stack of files, sauntering off to the fax machine. “I need to send these documents to the Argent Court. Can someone watch the door for me?”
“Certainly,” he sneered, staring daggers at her back. When Nephilim was gone, he smacked the folder on her desk. “She doesn’t actually expect me to complete all that by five, does she?”
“Probably not.”
He eyed my folder. “How many did you get?”
“About the same,” I lied.
He sighed, leaning on the desk. “So, who are we watching for?”
“Naberius.”
Adrial grinned. “Seyestin’s calling him out, eh? Pity I won’t be there to see it.”
I had no idea what he meant.
“Is this your first Court squabble?”
“Yup.”
Adrial scoffed. “Prepare to be entertained. And frightened.”
“Why frightened?”
“You’re about to witness professionalism and diplomacy degrade into elementary school behavior.”
Before I could respond, Leid invaded my mind.
Are you coming back sometime today?
We didn’t need Aeon to communicate telepathically. Vel’Haru could have mental conversations with each other any time they wished. I’d never wish for that, though. I found it extremely invasive.
“My slaver is calling,” I muttered.
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch the door.”
***
Naberius Uhnem resembled a circus ringmaster. He’d pranced in ten minutes later, wearing a pinstripe black and purple suit, complete with a tophat and a feathery scarf.
The Archdemon bowed to Leid, removing his hat as strands of raven black hair swept across his forehead. “So sorry for the wait, Justice Commander. I was caught up in some business.” His eyes rose; they were the color of burning coal, ringed with crimson.
Leid gestured to the seat next to General Trede. As they sat side by side, I noticed that although demons and angels were phenotypically very different—angels having fair hair, fair eyes, fair skin, demons having none of that—there were other things that marked them as identical. Wings, pointed ears, similar facial structure, and they all spoke Archaean. But something about the demons always made me stare. That weird, deep ache returned and I found it strangely comforting.
Leid delved right in. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d like to ask you some questions regarding the most recent code violation. The demon’s name was Dromolech; he worked as a collector for you in Lohr, did he not?”
As she spoke, the Archdemon’s face fell with confusion. When Leid was done, he shot Seyestin an irritated look. “Are you really going to waste my time with this again?”
“Four code violations, all from demons that either directly or indirectly worked for you,” said the angel General.
“Indirectly worked for me?” Naberius repeated, smirking. “Every demon in Lohr indirectly works for me, you idiot. I’m the Archdemon.”
“A poor one, at that. Can’t even keep your subjects in line.”
“You should pick your battles more wisely, General Trede. You’ve already lost this one.”
“My Commander sent me down here, actually. The issue has gained a bit more momentum than you think.”
“You know what I think? I think what all this is really about is you having to rub your raw, red ass after your Commander spanked it good for letting the Sanguine Court claim a few tallies.”
Zing.
That remark propelled Seyestin from his seat, and the Archdemon rose to meet him. As the altercation grew, I reclined in my chair, brows arched, twirling a pen in my fingers. Leid and I shared a look, before she also rose to diffuse the situation.
“Sit down, both of you,” she ordered. “There will be no brawls in my office. You are court officials, so start acting like it.”
They took their seats.
“Naberius, you’ve already told Justice Trisyien that you’ve no involvement in the code violations. That part is clear. But is there anything else you could tell us? Any other information you haven’t stated?”
“About?” Naberius asked.
“The Sanguine Court.”
He sighed, crossing his legs. “The only thing I can tell you is that Commander Raith has assembled a special team of investigators who are perusing Hell, trying to identify its members. They’re under the suspicion that a Parliament official is leading the cause.”
Seyestin rolled his eyes. “As if that wasn’t already evident.”
Naberius glared at him. Then to Leid, he said, “I don’t know what else you want. I’ve done everything I can to prove my innocence.”
“You’ve done nothing to prove your innocence. All you’ve done is dance around our investigation,” snapped Trede.
“If you recall, I was the one who called the Celestial Court to report the criminals. I also helped with their arrest.”
Seyestin looked away, shaking his head.
“I find it amusing that you’d claim I was a traitor. Forcing my subordinates to break the Code only to turn them in is an accusation worse than high treason. The Sanguine Court would string me up, and believe me when I say that’s a fate far scarier than anything your Commander could dish.”
“Did I just hear you admit that you sympathize with code violators?”
Naberius massaged his forehead. “No, that isn’t what I—”
“You just said you wouldn’t betray your own. Does that count for code violators as well?”
“I specifically said that I’d given the code violators up, you deaf, incoherent cad!”
They were up again; this time their chairs even hit the floor.
Before either could take a swing, Leid blurred between them with her hands on their chests. The scene looked like an eleven year old trying to break up a fight between two gladiators. Needless t
o say it was getting really difficult not to laugh.
“Gentlemen, please,” she huffed. “I have a more reasonable solution.”
The two stared each other down.
Finally they backed off, and Leid’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“I agree with you, Naberius, but I also see the point Seyestin is trying to make.” She retreated to her desk, writing something down on a pad of paper. “I’m going to set a hearing in motion for the Courts to come together and discuss these violations. We’ll find a way to deal with this once and for all, without fists. One of the discussion topics will be about devising a new law to deal with the tallies unjustly collected by violations.”
The surprise on their faces was mutual.
“Okay?” pressed Leid.
“A new law hasn’t been added since the Apsularis was written,” Naberius said.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“And I assume this law will be unprejudiced?” he demanded, shooting Seyestin another look. The General only smiled.
“Your panel can vote on it,” said Leid. “The law will be of your choosing; I have no part in its creation. I’m only proposing the idea.”
“I’m just an Archdemon, Justice. That’s a decision for Commander Raith.”
“And Telei,” added Seyestin.
“I’ll leave it up to you two to convince them to have a sit-down. You’re both dismissed. Don’t kill each other on the way out, or I’ll smack you so hard with demerits that your heads will spin.”
They shuffled for the door, saying nothing.
Leid returned behind her desk. “And don’t forget to sign out at the front. Nephilim gets grouchy about that.”
The door closed. Leid put her elbows on the desk, sighing into her hands. I watched her, smirking.
“Well,” I said, “that was horrifying, wasn’t it?”
***
“How many do you have left?” asked Leid.
My eyes flew to the clock. “Forty-six. You?”
“Twenty-eight.”
It was almost five. We weren’t going to make it.
The room filled with the sound of fervent scribbles. Leid had volunteered to take half the soulcases so we could get out on time. She was a faster reader than me.
“Looks like we’ll be eating late,” she muttered. “What do you want for dinner tonight? Leriza or fish?”
“Don’t care.”
“Leriza it is.”
It was always leriza. She only pretended to give us a choice.
“When is that hearing happening, by the way?”
“Three weeks.”
“Is that enough time?”
“Not sure, but something has to happen soon. The Courts are crumbling. The hearing will at least make everyone shut up for a while.”
I noticed the quaver in her voice and glanced up from my case files. Leid was trembling, pen wobbling in her hand. Her attention was cast to the stack of case files in front of her, but her expression was pained, scared.
“Leid?”
She didn’t even look at me.
I leaned forward, concerned. “Hey.”
She spun and her eyes widened. “I’m… I’m fine. I just need some fresh air.” But when she tried to get out of the seat, her knees buckled. I caught her before she hit the ground.
And then something confusing happened: she hugged me tightly, burying her face into my neck. I flinched at the embrace, unsure of how to react. Her breath was warm and deep against my skin, and I shuddered.
This was the closest we had ever come. I was partially convinced there was something wrong with me, because Leid was always so friendly with the others, but never me. She looked at me differently, always had, like I was the unwanted child of the family. Comparing our relationship to a child and parent felt a little awkward, especially given the situation, but there was always a type of cool reservation in her eyes whenever she looked at me. Leid was never outright frigid, but she was never warm, either. Until now.
In the subsequent minutes, her pulse began to slow. I could feel it like it was my own. Her breathing softened, and she stirred in my arms.
“Are you alright?” I whispered.
Leid went rigid at the sound of my voice, as if having woken from a nightmare. She recoiled, terrified. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“What happened?”
Leid hesitated with a response, getting back on her feet. “Nothing, I’m fine now.”
I shot her an incredulous look. “Bullshit. You almost fainted.”
“I’m fine,” she said sternly, heading for the hall. “I just need some air.”
I whirred in front of the door, blocking her. “Tell me what happened.”
“Alezair, stop.”
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s none of your business!” she cried, near shout.
“I’m concerned.”
My response soothed her chagrin. She sat on the edge of her desk, swallowing hard. “A panic attack.”
“For real?”
“I get them sometimes.”
“What triggered it?”
“Not sure,” she said, lowering her gaze. “Sometimes they happen for no reason at all.”
“Maybe you should take it easy for a while.”
“Take it easy? How? How the hell am I supposed to take it easy when Seyestin just barged in here demanding that we impeach Naberius?”
“So that’s what this is about? Fuck him. He seems like an idiot.”
“Whether he’s an idiot or not doesn’t make a difference. Our job is to keep this Contest running. It’s to keep these idiots from entering another war. Right now we’re not doing such a great job.”
“I think you’re making this out to be a bigger deal than it is.”
Leid laughed in spite of me. “Right, of course you’d say that. You traipse around here, naivety in full-swing. You would very much prefer to piss on the wall than study, or care, or even show up to work on time. So yes, I can see how this wouldn’t be a big deal to you.”
“Hey, don’t start taking your shit out on me.”
“Well perhaps if you’d take your job a little more seriously then I wouldn’t have the added stress of constantly looking after you.”
“Looking after me? What, you mean taking it upon yourself to keep me prisoner in the library all night?”
“That wouldn’t happen if you’d retain your lessons the first time around.”
Keeping my anger in check was getting really tough. Something else was going on, too. My skin was all tingly and my pulse was getting quicker, heavier. I wanted to hit her. And fuck her. I wanted to hit her and fuck her.
“You’re a real cunt, you know that?”
The anger on her face evaporated. Leid stared at me as if I’d struck her.
“I’ve done everything you’ve asked. For a hundred years you’ve deprived me of sleep, made me your office bitch, and I’ve eaten it all with a smile. A forced smile, but a smile nonetheless. And yet you still treat me like a derelict. Why? What gives you the right to treat me like I’m the laziest piece of shit ever when all I do is try to make you happy?”
She didn’t respond. The look she wore reminded me of Jerusalem. There was fear—no, reverence—in her eyes as they held me, and it gave me a high. Right then the ache returned, but it fizzled out and gave way to an even deeper feeling. Anger, lust, dominance, coalescing all at once, and the resulting force was strong enough to relieve me of my sanity.
The change must have been apparent on my face, because Leid started backing for the door. But she didn’t run, even when we were nearly nose to nose against the frame. Leid looked up at me, cool, but there was a storm brewing in her eyes.
“You’re familiar,” I whispered, searching her face. “So familiar, every time I look at you. Why?”
Leid said nothing still, but her breaths quickened, and then it was clear that I was not alone in this. Our nearness was doing something t
o her, too.
“You like being against the wall with me, don’t you?”
I brushed my hand against the side of her face and she shivered, closing her eyes. I began to entertain the idea that she’d pushed me away all these years because she was attracted to me. But then, why was that so wrong? Why would she push me away rather than just act on her feelings? It’s not like I would ever say no.
I couldn’t hold back any longer, and as my logic screamed nooooo from its tiny corner of my mind, I leaned down to kiss her.
Leid shoved me away with a snarl, and I was sent crashing into her desk. Before I could recover, her fist crushed the side of my face. I collapsed on all fours, spitting teeth.
A second later I heard the door slam, and half the paintings on the wall fell to the floor. The strange feeling subsided, and then I was left there, surrounded by documents and broken glass. I stared at the ground in utter disbelief, feeling the throb of my heart.
I’d just backed my Commander into a corner and tried to have sex with her. Wow.
I hadn’t a clue why I’d thought that was a good idea, nor could I recall what had even brought that idea on in the first place.
It was a well-known fact that Leid held grudges, and I was sure to be on her shit list for another hundred years after that stunt.
VIII
THE QUEEN AND THE VIOLIN
UNSURPRISINGLY, LEID GREW DISTANT over the subsequent weeks. She cancelled my lectures three nights in a row, and then began taking extended midday breaks, sometimes lasting until three o’clock. She hardly said a single thing to me, and when she did, her eyes stayed on the ground.
I wanted to talk about what had happened that afternoon at the office, but not only was I too embarrassed, she’d made it impossible to catch her alone.
The Antithesis- The Complete Pentalogy Page 6
