by Sara Snow
I scoffed, chuckling, fighting my way back to my feet. “Touche, kid. You learn fast.” I massaged my aching abdominal muscles, taking deep breaths as I tried to soothe the pain. “Thanks for pulling your punch, though.”
“No problem,” he answered, stretching. “I think it’s time for a break.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s take ten,” I said, grateful for the opportunity to invade Eli and Carter’s conversation.
Thankfully, Eli had sat near my water bottle, giving me a perfect excuse. Carter saw me immediately, stiffening, his eyes narrowing my direction.
“…so what should we do?” I heard Eli ask as I made my way over.
Carter’s eyes connected with mine. “Maybe we should ask our team leader. He’s Kingston’s son, he should know exactly what to do, right Jacob?”
Eli groaned, rolling his eyes. “Christ’s sakes, you two. We’re all in real actual danger, so let’s maybe save the pissing contest for some other time, okay?”
Carter’s jaw clenched, definitely biting back whatever smartass comment he wanted to make.
“Eli’s right. We need to work together on this one. How did you manage to break in last time?” I asked.
“I floated up to the roof and went down an air vent. It was pretty big, though. Honestly you all could probably fit through it. Olympia said she was going to ask her witch friends for an invisibility spell, so that should help us sneak in undetected,” he said.
Of course you have all the answers, Mr. Smartypants. I should’ve known.
“Ok, well then great, that’s the plan,” I said, trying not to sound too bitter. “You float up, say we toss you a rope, you secure it, we climb up, we send the rope down the vent shaft, climb down and voila?”
“Voila,” Carter echoed. “Perfect. Olympia has also been working on a variation of her scrying mirror technique that will guide us through the palace despite Paimon’s magic that changes its layout, so we shouldn’t have a problem getting where we need to go once inside.”
“Is that spell really going to be ready by tomorrow night?” I asked.
Carter shrugged. “She told me when I got back that she felt confident in it. I have no choice but to trust her on that.”
“What about the potion she gave me and Jacob before?” Eli asked.
“None left. What you guys got was the last of it and she’s still brewing up more, but it won’t be ready in time. That’s why she needs the spell.”
We were interrupted when Olympia brushed into the room with a sense of urgency.
“The kings are already starting to brew their natural disasters,” she said.
Everyone froze, the seriousness becoming contagious.
Well, at least we have a plan.
17
Georgia
The day had seemed to pass so quickly as I had studied the scroll under my bed, scrambling to find any more useful information in it that we may have missed before on the chance that we had to escape without it. I’d scanned the immense length of it, desperate to get every little last detail I could out of the drawings on it. I was sure it told a story, but without the accompanying text to clarify, I could only make vague guesses at what it was. Everything seemed to be too inaccessible as it was, though, either too damaged or too crude to make out. There was only one thing that I managed to discover, and it seemed critically important.
In one picture, I saw a familiar shape—the blade that we found in the basement and had seen in a later image impaling the kings. In this picture, though, the Huntress stood holding it in three separate pieces—the main piece with the handle and two prong-like blades that were fixed to either side—appearing to put them together to form a single weapon. It struck me that that must be what we had to do to make the weapon usable against them—the missing pieces I’d noticed must have been where the two other blades were mounted originally before they were broken off. I was excited to share my findings with the others, but when it started to grow later and later, I began to worry.
I had made time in the afternoon to wander the halls, hoping to bump into Rakshasi and hopefully find a few more things out from her that I thought I’d have more time to ask, but it seemed that everyone who was anyone in the castle was getting ready for the banquet. The guards were out in full force, and I knew that Paimon would be informed of my exploring, so when I finally accepted defeat, I did my best to make my wandering seem aimless as I let his magic hallway-scrambling magic guide me back to my room.
When Paimon had sent one of his minions to my room earlier in the day to deliver a special outfit for the banquet, I had hoped that I wouldn’t actually have to put it on. Carter had promised to come for me before the banquet even started. I told myself that getting into the palace wasn’t easy, and it would make sense that there would be delays, but he’d still be here on time. He had to be.
Part of me couldn’t help but worry though. What if they had decided that saving me was too inconvenient? What if they changed the plan without letting me know? What if they just gave up already and decided I was a lost cause? The fear swirled in my brain like a storm cloud and there was nothing I could do to calm it. Until I saw Carter busting down the doors to the palace to get me, I wouldn’t be able to relax.
When I had to put on the dress I was provided for the evening, it finally set in for me just how real all of this was. It was more elegant than anything I’d ever seen in my entire life, decorated with a thick jeweled band around the waist and a long, thick cape draping down the back to meet the short train that dragged behind me. I recognized it as one of the dresses Paimon had laid out before me among other weapons and treasures before, so I knew this must have belonged to some pretty important demon queen or princess. That thought in and of itself was intimidating, but knowing the nature of the event to which I was wearing it made me feel so small and weak in it.
A knock at my door startled me away from the mirror I had been looking into.
“Yes?” I called.
“Princ—Ahem, Georgia, if you’re ready I can escort you to the banquet hall. Your father is ready for you,” a gruff voice called from outside the door.
“Ah, just a minute! Almost done,” I said, scrambling for the dagger and scroll, making to shove them under my bed. I paused, considering the band around my waist. It was tight and thick, and the cape draping down my back was opaque and completely obscured the shape of my back. In a moment of quick thought, I tucked the scroll into the back of the band, sucking my stomach in as much as I could to make room for it, then secured the dagger next to it.
I checked it out in the mirror, and realized that as long as I kept my back straight, no one would be able to know they were there beneath the thickly draped cape. I took a deep breath, wondering how secure this would actually be, but I didn’t have much of a choice. It was coming down to the wire, and if the Venandi came for me during the banquet and we ended up fighting our way out of here, returning to my room to grab them wasn’t going to be an option if we wanted to make it out before the demons caught us.
I steadied myself, fixing my posture and went to the door, greeting the frankly hideous demon that awaited me outside.
“Georgia, if you’ll please follow me,” he said with a sweeping gesture. “May I say you look beautiful this evening.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
I followed him in silence, my heart beating faster and faster as we moved through the halls. I had expected the demon to take me to the dining hall I had become familiar with, but when we passed through it and it was completely empty, I was a bit surprised. I kept my shock to myself and continued on, wondering where in the hell we were going.
When we arrived, my jaw dropped. The banquet hall was impossibly large, and as I looked down into it from the top of the stairs I really could believe that most of the servants were present. There was no way I could begin to count the demons in the room or even the tables in the hall. It was elegant and pristine, even nicer than the rest of the castle with huge cast
iron chandeliers illuminating the room.
I could see Paimon standing around a table on a stage-like platform with Bebal and Abalam and a few others hanging at their side, including Rakshasi, who was seated on one end of the table. They were so far away, but as I descended the stairs with my escort, Paimon and I caught eyes, a small smile appearing on his face. With how friendly he’d been acting toward me since my arrival, I had expected his expression to look warmer, but it seemed so much darker than usual. It gave me the chills.
As I made my way across the banquet hall toward the kings, my knees began to feel weak. I hadn’t seen Bebal since the cemetery and the last thing I saw him do was murder Kingston in front of me. I tried as hard as I could to ignore the image of it that kept cropping up in my head, knowing that I had to keep up this charade until the Venandi came for me. I fought the urge to run, to just slip between the tables and make my way out of the castle, but I’d be screwed if Paimon sent people looking for me.
Climbing the steps to the platform, I realized just how tall the demon kings were. Paimon was tall on his own, and his size had intimidated me from the beginning, but seeing the three of them together made them look larger than life. Paimon greeted me with outstretched arms, clasping my hands in his, dwarfing them beneath his long fingers.
“Georgia, of course you remember King Bebal and King Abalam,” he said, gesturing to the kings flanking his sides.
Of course I remember them killing my friend and the only man I’ve ever viewed as a father figure.
“Of course. It’s good to see you two again, hopefully on a much better foot this time,” I added, hoping to incite a bit of a genuine-seeming desire to smooth things over, even though the only thing I wanted to smooth over was their faces against the ground with my foot.
I honestly impressed myself with how much I was able to fake enthusiasm at the prospects of joining up with them. The three creatures who had caused me the most pain in my life were standing in front of me, and I was looking them in the eyes and making their acquaintance like we had absolutely no history with each other.
I didn’t hang around long for small talk—Bebal and Abalam gave me their generic demon “We’re looking forward to working with you,” type bullshit before I excused myself to join Rakshasi at the table. I knew I shouldn’t be relying on her too much since she was on their side, but I still had to put together a few more pieces about this dagger and the scroll.
She smiled in greeting when I sat next to her, seeming a bit surprised to see me.
“Are these parties always so stuffy?” I asked, hoping to be a bit disarming.
With a concealed giggle, she answered. “Usually, yes. Is this your first?”
It’s rare that I get to eat a meal I don’t have to fight for, yeah.
I just nodded. “Mhmm. I’m not really built for these.”
“They can be quite fun if you relax.”
“Ah, yeah. Relaxing isn’t really my strong suit. Neither is being the center of attention.”
“Mmm, indeed. That’s understandable,” she said softly, though I detected a bit of jealousy in her voice again.
I immediately felt a bit guilty. She clearly didn’t get much attention around here because my father was above hers, and it seemed to wear on her. She only lost her upright and calm demeanor around me when my power or status was brought up. I wanted to say something nice to make her feel better, but I wasn’t sure what to say.
I went with, “You look really beautiful tonight, Rakshasi.” She beamed as she thanked me.
It was true. She looked so stunning in her formal gown, the deep purple emphasizing the purple of her eyes, lightening them almost to a lavender color, giving her an almost ethereal glow between that and her elegantly styled snow-white hair and the subtle bronze glow on her dark cheeks. I was almost jealous, except for the fact that I was about to get out of this oversized dungeon and she would have to stay here, right where she’d always been.
We fell into a bit of silence as I looked out into the crowd, watching the servants mingle amongst themselves. Occasionally, a demon dressed in what appeared to be more fancy formalwear would come up to the platform, greeting the demon kings before returning to their tables on the floor. I recognized many of them from books that I’d read in Kingston’s library, many of them dukes, princes, marquises, and other such high-ranking demons. It seemed like the room was swarming with creatures that humankind had written about for centuries. For a second, I felt like I was in a book that some mom in a rural village would read to scare her kids into going to bed on time.
I was suddenly reminded of the Huntress Scroll and the reason I had approached Rakshasi in the first place, trying to think of a discreet way to approach the subject with her.
“Oh, Rakshasi, I wanted to get your input on something. I’ve been doing some thinking just for fun and wanted to know your opinion. Think of it like a game, almost like a mental puzzle. I want to ask you the question I’ve been mulling over in my head for this little game.”
“Of course, what’s your question?” she asked.
“The blade that the Huntress has—I know it’s broken into three pieces, and I’m absolutely racking my brain as to where they could be hidden. It’s kind of like a fun thought experiment, just to try and get inside someone’s head and figure out how they think.” I kept my voice down, hoping to stay out of earshot of the kings. “Like, if I were King Paimon, where would I keep my piece? Or better yet, if I were Bebal, where would I keep it? Questions like that, you know?”
Rakshasi’s lips tightened into a line and she seemed a bit hesitant. “My father doesn’t like me talking about that weapon, I’m not sure I should say… I’ve already told you too much about it, I’m afraid. I was being too candid when we spoke of it.”
I tried to act casual. “Oh no, that makes perfect sense, trust me. But since I’m going to be leading the Tenebris along with our fathers, they’ll tell me anyway. I just want to impress them by being able to guess. I want to make sure they know I’m capable, you know? Show them that I can think critically and be intuitive.”
Rakshasi seemed to think it over, her apprehension written all over her face. I felt bad for lying to her, but so much was riding on this, I couldn’t not try my hardest to find out. It just didn’t feel good to know I was tricking someone who had been nice to me since I got here—someone who I related to almost more than anyone else as the only other cambion I’d ever met in my life. I was starting to wonder if this is how it felt when Paimon talked to people, constantly lying and sweet-talking. The thought of doing anything like Paimon was vile. I had no desire to be like him, but the situation here was desperate. I just hoped that some day, I’d be able to apologize to her for it.
She took a deep breath, keeping her voice low. “I’m really not sure about this, Georgia. It seems like a fun mental exercise, but I don’t think I should play this game with you.”
Rakshasi’s eyes fell, though, like she was still debating whether or not to answer the question even though she’d already all but given her answer.
“It’s ok if you don’t want to say, I can always just ask my father about them. I just don’t want to look like an idiot in front of him, you know? We’ve never been very close and I just want to impress him.”
I hoped to reassure her that I wasn’t going to use the information she gave me for anything bad while employing a fair bit of reverse psychology. As terrible as it made me feel, I knew she would want to impress her father too if she was in my situation, and I hoped she’d be more inclined to help me because of that. My heart wrenched at my own tactic. I would have to try to make it up to her somehow. I had no idea how, but I would try. I had to be better than Paimon.
“I’m not sure exactly, but I think—”
Rakshasi was cut short and her eyes drawn over my head when those familiar alabaster hands of Paimon’s rested on my shoulders. I almost flinched, my reflexes telling me to turn and fight, but I held steady. Rakshasi stood quickly in his p
resence.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Paimon’s velvety voice said from above.
“Not at all, Rakshasi was just telling me about growing up in the palace,” I said quickly.
Rakshasi stayed silent.
“It’s time, Georgia. Join us at the center of the table,” Paimon said.
I stood without a word and finally saw Paimon’s face, his stoic red eyes surveying Rakshasi and I. He finally addressed her as he ushered me away.
“Apologies for taking your friend from you, my lady. I do hope you two can catch up after the ceremony,” he said.
Rakshasi bowed, keeping her face downward when she spoke to him. “Of course, it’s no trouble at all, King Paimon.”
The way Rakshasi made herself small around Paimon just like everyone else in this palace made my heart hurt for her. I wished I didn’t have to abandon her like this. The idea of having dangled my friendship in her face and then running away made me feel like an asshole. The fact that this was all for something bigger than just us was the only thing I could hold onto. The world depended on it.
Those thoughts were washed from my mind when Paimon guided me over to the most ostentatious chair I’d ever seen in my entire life, urging me to sit. Paimon stood in front of his own seat directly next to me with Abalam sitting down on my other side between Rakshasi and I. Bebal took the seat on Paimon’s other side with a few others I recognized from pictures. As soon as the demon kings and I had settled at our places, a large bell rang out from somewhere above the platform, the whole hall silenced immediately, attention turned to the stage.
“Friends, I thank you for joining me today for a most joyous celebration!” Paimon said, his voice booming unnaturally loud throughout the hall, seeming to reach even the most distant corners of the room to all of his minions who hung on his every word. “As you are likely aware, tonight we are commemorating the return of my daughter, Georgia, to her rightful place at my side as the newest member of our great forces.”