"Where did this trial take place?" Jase asked.
I shrugged. "House Lucifer owns some office space downtown. They reserved some meeting rooms and put me up in a hotel for the interim. It was pretty posh, to be honest. I don't even want to think about how much it cost them."
"So what was their next charge?"
"They accused me of using a human assassin to bring Duke Deshavin down."
"Seriously?"
I nodded. "After the imps recovered from their fit of laughter, they dropped that idea and accused me of assaulting him. That's when they switched up their inquisitor. The new one was much sharper than the previous one. They were trying to buy time early on, then bring the new guy in once they got something to stick."
"And the assault charge could stick."
I slurped my hot chocolate. The candy cane had almost completely melted, making it a little too minty. "It could. It was true, too. I had assaulted him, and not strictly in self-defense. Their inquisitor started to tie it to House Asmodeus. He did a good job of it. After he had said his piece, I almost believed that I was a secret agent trying to provoke a civil war. It didn't make much sense, but he was persuasive."
Jase clicked his tongue. "What was the point of that?"
"They were threatening me by threatening to draw my House into it. They allowed a recess for a few days at that point. Naturally, I had some visitors, starting with one of my uncles, a Baron of the House. They went all the way up the chain until Prince Opheran came to speak with me directly. That's the number two guy in Asmodeus, just for reference. He takes care of the day-to-day operations, real nice guy. He never stopped smiling, even apologized to me after he told me they'd gladly sacrifice me to House Lucifer to avoid any sort of open conflict. It was the sort of smile I took seriously, if you know what I mean."
"I'm sure I do. So what did you do when the trial resumed?"
"I got there to the trial room and the spectator seats were filled. Standing room only. High ranking representatives from every House. Even Leviathan and Belphagor were represented, and they don't usually bother sending people unless it's something huge. This was. You don't find an inter-House war on the verge of breaking out every day. So the Lucifer inquisitor asked me the fateful question, why did I assault Duke Deshavin? And I told him the truth."
"Which part?"
I grinned. "Caught that, did you?"
"There are many pieces of the truth involved here," he said. "I'm sure you didn't tell them the whole truth."
"I told them that I had a contract bound in blood with a human mage, and she had declared vendetta against Duke Deshavin to his face, for the murder of her friends and the destruction of her conclave. That got a reaction, for sure. Everyone was talking about it, except for the Lucifer contingent. They all grinned at me. That's damned well terrifying, Jase. You don't want to see a bunch of demons in their true form grinning at you all at once."
"Language, please."
"Sorry. So, the inquisitor just laughs it off. How can a human declare vendetta? Even if it was justified, who would take it seriously? I asked if they would consider it legitimate for the reasons given. The inquisitor refused to answer, so I appealed to the Consortium imps overseeing the trial. They conferred and ruled that the vendetta would be legitimate if she was aware of the War, as otherwise she would have no standing in a demonic court. Or angelic court, for that matter."
"And then you told them that she knew."
"I told them that, and then told them that the existence of the War had been revealed by another human, thus neatly bypassing the Pact."
Jase laughed and clapped his hands. "Their inquisitor must have been in shock!"
"It threw him off, that's for sure." The whispers and the looks on the House Lucifer representatives had been priceless. "The inquisitor called for recess immediately. They sent an imp to confirm it with Tink. I don't know what she told him, but the next time the court was in session, the Consortium announced that the vendetta was legitimately founded. The inquisitor was pissed, but that didn't stop him."
"What did he do next?"
"He brought up the point that a vendetta couldn't be considered binding unless the pronouncement was witnessed by a third party."
"Caleb."
I nodded. "Caleb."
"Is an angel's word enough for a demonic court?"
"In a way, yes." I shivered and squeezed the cup again.
Jase frowned. "It didn't work?"
"It worked. The imps ruled that the vendetta was fully binding and legitimate at that point. The courtroom was in chaos. There were transformations going, hellfire was starting to glow, no one could get a word in edgewise. It took several minutes for everything to calm down. The imps asked the Lucifer inquisitor if he acknowledged the vendetta. He stood up and started speaking. Acknowledged the vendetta and that if I was bound by contract, it was a legitimate reason to fight with the Duke, and formally dropped the assault accusation. My side of the court went wild. Prince Opheran himself led the applause. It was as if we had scored some major points against House Lucifer. In a way, we had, or so we thought. Halfbloods rarely get to take part in the political games, much less take an enemy piece."
"It didn't end there, did it?"
I shook my head. "The inquisitor then asked leave of the court for a closing statement. They let him. He talked about the way Duke Deshavin had died. No, not how he died, but how he was attacked. Not by hellfire or holy fire, but by human magic. He explained how they had found his remains, stripped of flesh, scoured clean. He asked, rhetorically, if any human mage or halfblood was powerful enough to do such a thing. As far as he knew, there was no way to do so."
"And there is?"
"There is a way to amplify human magic. That was our secret weapon. I didn't think it was common knowledge. It's more than that. It's either unknown or deeply secret. I don't know how it's stayed hidden so long, but I guess it's because contracts are rare. Extremely rare, to the point where I haven't heard of any besides my own in the past decade. I'd guess that even when a mage contracts with a demon, they're looking to leverage the demon's magic, not guessing that their own can be amplified. I'll need to ask Kibs for details. He should be able to find out how often this sort of thing happens, if he ever talks to me again."
"So what did the inquisitor say?"
"He said that logically, the angel that had assisted us was powerful enough to overwhelm a Duke, which would mean one of the Seraphim or Cherubim, and there aren't a whole lot of angels at those top ranks. Either that, or I was hiding something, some sort of weapon that was powerful enough to overwhelm a Duke."
"And?"
I let a tight smile cross my face. "Either way was a death sentence. I was either collaborating with a very high member of the Choir, or I was holding onto information that could end the war in our favor. Once he made his case, he accused me of high treason against the Host."
Jase slapped his forehead. "You walked right into that. Smoking gun."
"I know. That sent the room into pandemonium, if you pardon the pun. They had to have a platoon of imps from the Consortium phase in to keep order. The court went straight to recess after that.
"I didn't go back to the courtroom for almost two weeks, but there was a constant stream of visitors. First was a Consortium imp. They knew what power I had used. Kibs must have told them. Their rep told me straight out, if I admitted to the power, at all, they'd kill me. No mercy, no second chances, they'd just kill me, Caleb, and Tink."
"And now I'm on that list?" Jase asked. He sounded amused rather than angry. "I don't recall asking to be involved like this, Zay."
"They don't know I've told you, and if you're smart, you'll keep it that way," I said.
"Naturally. Who else visited you?"
"Prince Opheran. All smiles again, told me that Asmodeus would back me to the hilt against this. He knew I couldn't be dealing with a Seraph. I'd be dead if I ran across one of them, and we all knew it. Therefore, I had to know of somet
hing grossly powerful. Of course the House would support me. What was the power I had used?"
"No surprise there."
"Of course, I couldn't tell him. I'd get dead. I told him as much."
"What did he say to that?"
"The smile went away."
Jase finished off his hot chocolate and so did I. "So, do you still have a House?"
I shrugged. "Technically."
"What else happened?"
"The inquisitor from Lucifer visited, told me that the charges would go away if I revealed the information to them. They assured me, in the presence of an imp, that they would share this information between all the Houses so that there would be no issues of imbalance within the Host. Of course, he didn't notice the imp giving me the evil eye. I couldn't tell him anything even if I wanted to. Of course, he wasn't too happy about that either."
"So you were caught between certain death and uncertain death?" Jase asked.
"Oh, no, not at all. Certain death and certain death. Being convicted of high treason would get me dead for sure, and without any support, how was I going to defend myself? How could I defend myself? They were right. I couldn't even tell them they were right. The Consortium would have taken my head off right there in the courtroom and everyone would have applauded. Case closed."
"So you went back to trial?"
"Yes."
"And?"
I paused before telling him. "This is the part where I get confused, Jase. Maybe you'll get something out of it that I didn't. I went back to trial. They had to find a bigger room. If the Choir had gotten wind of it, they could have won the second Celestial War right there. There were Princes from every House, plural. It was hard to breathe. The inquisitor from House Lucifer started talking. It was convincing. He even convinced me. What could I say? Obviously I wasn't dealing with the Choir directly, but they could see that I knew of something powerful, I wasn't telling, and the Choir was involved. If the Choir knew and the Host didn't, then how could I not be a traitor?"
"Caleb, again."
"If they knew the truth about him, I'd be dead right now." I spun the empty cup around in my hands. "He's one of the angels who killed Lucifer himself. If I turned him in, I'd be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams, the charges would vanish, and I'd never have to worry about this shit ever again. It tempted me, Jase."
"Language, Zay."
"Sorry."
"Why didn't you turn him in?"
"I need him." I couldn't look Jase in the eye. "The way to break the Gates down without causing massive destruction requires cooperation. I need him. I can't just go pull a random angel off the street."
"Is that all?"
I kept spinning the cup. "The War is over. Long over. Most angels and demons alive today were born after it ended. It's a previous generation's conflict. I'm not going to throw him to the wolves because of that."
"You're holding out." I looked up. Jase was smiling at me.
"He's not such a bad guy, for an uptight angel who's tried to kill me. Whatever he did in the past is no business of mine."
He chuckled. "So. You were declared a traitor to the point where you believed it yourself. What did they close with?"
"The inquisitor brought up all sorts of evidence, tied it all to his House's work, and then declared that House Lucifer no longer had any interest in continuing with this trial, and summarily dropped the charges."
"What?"
"My thoughts exactly. Well, not exactly, my thoughts were significantly more profane. Got any ideas?"
Jase steepled his hands and covered his mouth. I picked up our cups and brought them to the sink. While he thought, I rinsed them out and left them to dry. Outside, it had started to snow. White snow, black night. My car was probably already covered.
"What happened when they said that? What was the general reaction?"
I turned from the window and looked at him. "No surprise. Some of the lower ranked demons were whispering about it, but all of the upper ranks, even of my own House, looked unsurprised. It was set up, that was obvious, but I still don't see why."
"I see. House Lucifer is holding it over your head. They're going to use you as bait to try to find out what you're holding. If you're dead, they can't discover what secret you're holding. Do you think the Consortium will kill you if they find out about that power amplification by means other than you telling them? What if they see it happen? Or put you in a position where you have to use it?"
I shuddered. "I don't know. I don't think I want to know."
A thumping noise echoed throughout the church. Jase looked over his shoulder at me, a frown on his face. "Were you expecting company?" he asked. I shook my head. No one even knew I was here. I had come here straight after the Consortium released me. The noise repeated itself and I recognized it as someone knocking on the front doors. Who would be visiting the church at this hour on a Thursday evening?
We walked together to the front doors as the knocking stopped. Jase pulled them open just in time to catch the visitor as he walked down the steps. He turned around with a smile and I felt my heart skip a beat. Slick hair, a perfectly tailored and expensive suit, and unlike the last time I had seen him, his tie was tied. Even though it was snowing, there wasn't a single flake touching him. "Good evening, Isaiah, Pastor Pruitt," he said. "I apologize for inconveniencing you so late at night, but I wondered if we could have a brief chat?"
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Jase said. He sent a sideways glance at me, but I barely noticed it.
"My name is Azriphel," he said. "Of House Lucifer. May I request sanctuary?"
I took a step forward, my hands balled into fists, but before I could say anything, Jase grabbed my shoulder. "Of course. Please come in."
"Jase!"
"If he wants to talk, he can talk." Jase's grip tightened, strong for a man of his age. "I'd be glad to hear him out. I'm sure you will be as well."
Azriphel chuckled and swept past me on the way into the church. I could feel warmth rolling off him in waves until he crossed the threshold. Jase pulled me inside and closed the doors shut behind us. "What do you want, Azzy?" I snapped. "Haven't you had enough fun toying with me over the past couple of months?"
The demon clicked his tongue at me. "The charges were dropped at my request, halfbreed. Shouldn't you owe me for that?"
"I'm sure I owe you more for being the force behind the farce."
Azriphel smiled at me. His smile was not quite human. "I fail to hear the proper note of respect in your tone, halfbreed."
"Respectfully, you can suck my-"
"May I offer you something to drink?" Jase cut in. "We were enjoying some hot chocolate before you arrived. Would you like some?"
"I would be delighted, Pastor Pruitt," Azriphel said with a slight bow. "I am pleased to find that someone here has some manners."
Jase led the way to the kitchen. "You'll have to excuse Zay. He's been through a trying time lately. Tense, as he put it."
"Quite understandable," Azriphel said. He took a seat at the table, my seat, and smiled again. "If I were in your position, I'm sure I would have found it rather tense myself. Of course, I would have considered various methods of assuring that the tension would be relieved. I would have considered it very seriously."
"What do you want, Azzy?" I snapped again. "I already turned your House down. I'm not going to tell you what you want to know. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."
"Oh, that?" Azriphel waved his hand in the air. "Your staunch devotion to, well, whatever, was noted and respected by our House. If you insist on keeping it so close to your chest, that is your business. We trust that you will do the right thing if circumstances demand it."
"So if you're not here for that, what are you here for?"
Jase handed him a cup of hot chocolate before he responded to me. While Azriphel took a cautious sip, Jase's gaze focused on me. I could imagine what he was thinking. Don't antagonize him. Don't rise to the bait. "Thank you, Pastor Pruitt. This is de
licious."
"Please, call me Jason."
"Jason, then." Azriphel placed the cup down on the table and continued to smile at me. "The truth is, Isaiah, I came here today to thank you."
"For what, ruining your plans?"
"Not in the least." His smile grew wider. "A gap in our upper ranks needed to be filled. Being next in line, it was almost a formality. I was confirmed as a Duke of House Lucifer two days ago."
My jaw dropped. Azriphel had been that strong? No wonder he had returned Tink's knife. "So that's why you didn't have a problem with us stopping him," I said. "You planned it that way, didn't you, Azzy?"
"Your Grace," he said. "You will address me properly, halfbreed."
"Azzy, your Grace, you planned it to happen this way, didn't you?"
He took another sip from his hot chocolate. "This truly is delicious, Jason."
I slammed my hand down on the table. "Answer me!"
"Respect, halfbreed," he said softly. Threat dripped from his words. "Have respect for your betters."
"I've heard it said that the best way to take the measure of a man is to see how he treats those he considers his inferiors," Jase said. Azriphel and I both turned to look at him. "I'd think the same thing of demons."
Azriphel inclined his head to the pastor before turning back to me. "I planned nothing of the sort. I merely gave you the opportunity to face Deshavin. Whether you defeated him, or he defeated you, it would remove an obstacle from my path. Either situation was one that I was prepared to take advantage of. Trust me, if you had fallen, I would be thanking him instead."
"That's unusually candid of you," I said.
"Take it as a measure of my thanks."
"So what else are you here for?"
He sipped his hot chocolate. "You believe I have ulterior motives?"
"Of course you do. Why else would you be here?"
"Your situation is precarious," he said. "Who can you trust, Isaiah? Your contract partner? This pastor? Who?"
"What business is it of yours?"
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