by Gwenda Bond
Father takes a second to digest the question, then throws his head back with laughter.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CALLIE
People have got to stop laughing at me when I say completely logical things. I’m beginning to feel like the Greek myths’ Cassandra, cursed to know and tell the truth but no one believes her—only in my case it’s cursed to be taken as hysterical when I’m being 100 percent serious.
The devil sits there with his legs casually sprawled and his stunning wings wide and just keeps laughing.
“Excuse me,” I say to the manspreading devil.
Luke is no help. I’ve never seen him like this. Cowed. I think he might be trembling.
“What’s so funny?” I press, but to no effect. I have no choice. I pull out my best imitation of Mom on the rare occasions when she’s annoyed and issue a command: “Stop it.”
The magic of a mom voice always works. He sobers.
I instantly regret pushing my luck. He grows fearsome between one breath and the next, radiating big I could crush you like a bug and then do it again and again for a thousand years energy.
Problem is, the devil seems like a complete jerk. I can’t help but like Luke at this point. He rescued me from not being able to read. He gave me a Lewis Carroll story no one else on Earth knows exists. He also gave me the best, most brain-melting orgasm of my life. He’s helping me save the world. It may be stupid, but I want to stand up for him.
When the devil speaks, it’s not to me but to Luke. “She doesn’t know who you are.”
There’s a resolve in Luke’s expression. “She knows me better than you, than anyone, and it only took her a day.”
The devil shakes his head, eyes glowing like coals. Luke has made him angry. Yes, Luke is trembling. I step next to him, and slip my hand in his to lend him strength.
I don’t know if it’s true that I know Luke better than anyone else, but, no matter what, it’s sad that he’d say so. Heartbreaking, honestly. I see him clearly for the first time. He’s lonely. Alone. Feels like he’s screwing up constantly. I can relate.
No wonder he wanted to tag along with me initially. That he’s been eager to help me despite playing for Team Dark Side.
I can’t forgive everything he’s done, the lies he’s told. I get it, though. I get him.
“I’m Lucifer Morningstar.” As he peers down his nose at me, Lucifer’s eyes are sharp, hard chips of broken glass. “He is my son. Meet Luke Astaroth Morningstar, crown prince of Hell, my heir.” He stops and considers. “At least, if he secures a soul before tomorrow’s moonrise. Otherwise…”
A prince. Or the prince of darkness.
So much for my seeing Luke clearly. I hesitate … Maybe I still do.
“And that explains the apartment.” I turn to Luke, who’s studiously avoiding looking at me. “You couldn’t have mentioned this when I found out you weren’t Rofocale? You told me you were an intern.”
“You pretended to be Rofocale?” This revelation has taken Lucifer Morningstar by surprise.
“I am an intern,” Luke says and finally meets my eyes. “Callie, I’m sorry I lied.”
I wave my hand in dismissal. “We have bigger problems.”
Because what does it matter? We have an apocalypse to stop. If anything, this is good news. Right? Right. I ignore the tiny twinge at being lied to again. That’s not important right now.
“You’re sorry you lied?” Lucifer asks him. He’s staring at our linked hands. “Oh, I see. I always liked a challenge myself.”
That one takes me a second to process. “Ew,” I say. “I take it #MeToo hasn’t made it to Hell, but no thanks.”
“I didn’t mean like that,” Lucifer snaps. “I meant your soul.”
He leans slightly forward, the shadow of his wings moving.
The devil’s wings rustling turns out to be the eeriest sound I’ve ever heard.
“I see what this is now,” he says. “Son, want to ask what you came here to ask?”
Luke hesitates. Again, unusual for him. He hasn’t been much for hesitation in our time together.
“Yes?” his father prompts.
Luke clasps his hands in front of himself. “I’d like to use the World Watcher to locate the Order of Elerion. I plan to secure their souls in order to meet your deadline.”
“Now, was that so difficult?” Lucifer asks. He settles back on his towering throne. “Too bad it’s not here. But there’s an available human soul right next to you.”
The gray light outside streams through the stained-glass battle scenes. I might as well be in them. This is a battle.
“Not really,” I inform him. “I’m a guardian.”
“A guardian? No, you’re not.” Lucifer dismisses the possibility.
That guardian warrior’s laughter echoes through my head.
I raise my brows at Luke. “You lied about that too?”
He lifts his shoulders in a pained shrug. “I didn’t know—”
“So, you see,” Lucifer interrupts, silencing Luke, “why my son needs the discipline and focus of a challenge to rise to. You’ll do.”
The hits just keep on coming. I’m not a guardian. My teammate is the heir of Hell.
But, again … so what? I have half the Holy Lance in my messenger bag and the world needs saving. So what if I wasn’t born with the right pedigree? If Luke made it all up for whatever reason …
The actual guardians—which I’m apparently not—believe this has all been done in a calculated fashion by Lucifer. Luke’s right. They’re not going to buy the truth that it’s an accident. Occam’s razor is the principle that says the simplest explanation is most likely to be the right one. The simplest explanation here may be wrong, but it’s the one they’ve jumped to.
The upshot is that I’m as able to stop this situation from spiraling into complete destruction as anyone. I might not be the most qualified, but what choice do I have?
“I don’t care.” I act like it’s an easy decision. “I’m still seeing this through, guardian or not.”
“Callie…” Luke starts.
“We’re fine,” I say and mean it. “As long as you can convince him to let us use that globe. We need to find the cult.”
“Ahem,” Lucifer says and his amusement is clearly a front. “It’s not here, as I said and you’ve seen. It’s with your mother, Luke. If you want to use the globe, you’ll have to go see Lilith. And there are some rules: no more traveling by our method with the girl. You’ll have to make the journey. It should give you the time you need.”
Luke asks exactly what I’m thinking. “What’s the catch?”
“I want you to get her soul by the deadline.” Lucifer smiles. “Any worthy son of mine should be able to pull it off.”
The horror on Luke’s face is almost funny. “Father, no.”
“I’ve made up my mind.” Lucifer’s smile widens, baring his teeth like a formerly angelic wolf.
My immortal soul. The one thing I’ve been taught to guard against Hell my entire life. My palms go cold even as my heart pounds. I refuse to let Lucifer see my fear.
I shrug. “We’re done here?”
Lucifer’s grin vanishes and I give an inward fist-pump. Just then, there’s a commotion and Luke and I turn to face it.
A demon in a long black cape like a Supreme Court justice’s rushes into the throne room. He has an owl’s head and wings but his hooves clatter on the floor. “Sire, I’m afraid there’s a problem with Luke—” The owl demon stops talking when he sees us.
“I tried to prevent him from interrupting you,” Rofocale explains, hurrying in behind him.
“He’s a loyal sort, our Porsoth,” Lucifer says, and nods for them to approach. “He can accompany the prince and his conquest on their journey.”
“I am not,” I say, but I might as well be shouting into a void for all the attention anyone pays.
“Happily, sire,” the demon named Porsoth says. Then, to Luke, “Where are we going?”
Odd that he calls his mom by her given name, but then, maybe that’s how they do things here. I recognize it—Adam’s notorious first wife, replaced because she refused to be subservient to him. And, considered a men’s-soul-sucking demon afterward. I’ve always liked the idea of Lilith. Now I’m going to meet her. Maybe she can tell me how to stand up to these guys and win.
Porsoth’s owlish throat works as he swallows, and there’s pride on his strange features. “Of course.” He bows his head to Luke. “You shall have my aid.”
“You are all dismissed,” Lucifer says with a wave. “Except you, Rofocale. You stay. We need to discuss combat strategy and … other things. Luke, don’t fail me. You won’t like the results if you do.”
I want to argue that he can’t simply flap his hand around and get rid of us, but Luke and our new companion, Porsoth the Supreme Court–garbed demonic owl-pig, have already started to leave. I stand my ground for one more moment.
“We’re going to surprise you,” I say.
Lucifer looks past me to Rofocale, but I know he heard.
I follow Luke. Something tells me he’s not going to like the new plan forming in my head.
Which is only fair, since I don’t like it either.
* * *
Luke is quiet as we head into another long, dark, goth magnifique corridor. That’s not a good sign. Then again, he’s been tasked with taking my soul.
The owl in the robe is monologuing and it’s not even a little comforting. “This is going to be one for the history books. Or that will end the history books, which is a shame since we’ll hardly have time to enjoy writing them, or reading them. Oh, his damnable word! Luke! I worry—”
“Who are you again?” I ask him.
The owl stops and ruffles his feathers. “Luke hasn’t mentioned me?”
“He’s a little self-absorbed.” The response is meant to needle Luke on purpose, but he doesn’t even seem to notice. This is heading into Mayday territory. Maybe I should grab him and kiss him. Hey, it worked on me.
The owl blinks at me and then snorts a laugh that he attempts to hide. “He is. That he is! But you can’t say that! He’s the heir.”
The owl snorts again, barely containing the laughter.
“I can say it, though,” I say smugly. “I just did.”
The owl nods. “I can’t argue with that logic.”
I gamble and extend my hand. If this creature’s coming with us, I may as well get to know more about him. “I’m Callie, non-guardian tasked with saving the world.”
“I’m Porsoth, formerly the minder of the befouled pit of eternal grievance, the abject terror of the black-hearted, and now Luke’s tutor.” That last one sounds convincing, the others not so much. From beneath the robe, he extends a wing with a skinny hand at the end of it and we shake.
I take him in. “And you’re an owl.”
“I’m a half-owl, half-porcine demon with some humanoid features in this, a variant of my natural form. I can change it if this isn’t becoming.”
I’ve insulted him. “No, that’s not what I mean. It’s just this is all like Hogwarts, but bigger and more…” I search for a non-insulting phrase.
“Demonic!” Porsoth cries after a beat, seemingly delighted. “I always wanted the owls to stage an uprising in those books. What’s your house?” He blinks again. “Gryffindor, am I right?”
Sure, I’m discussing Hogwarts houses with demons. My entire life has led to this.
“Me? Ravenclaw, all the way.” I squint. “And you’d be Slytherin, I guess.”
“If I must,” he says and sighs. “But I’m a Ravenclaw at heart too. Don’t tell.”
“Our secret.” An idea occurs to me. “You guys weren’t involved with all that nonsense from her, right?”
“Wouldn’t touch it.” Porsoth shudders.
I hazard a look over at Luke and find him staring into space.
Porsoth follows my gaze. As we watch, Luke paces from one side of the corridor to the other and back again.
“Luke?” I ask. “You okay?”
“I’ll convince him to drop it, don’t worry,” he says, continuing to walk. “He can’t mean for me to actually do it.”
“What?” I ask.
He halts and faces me. “Your soul. I know I can’t take it. You’re good. He must be joking.”
May as well get this over with. “You can and you will. We’re making a deal.”
Porsoth inhales sharply.
Luke goes motionless. “No, Callie, you don’t understand. Deals with our kind are serious business. You can’t just back out of them.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t. If we make a deal, it can’t be broken.” Luke pauses. “Not without severe consequences.”
I’ve made up my mind. I can’t do this alone. I need to be certain Luke will see it through. Lucifer Morningstar gave me a way to accomplish my task, and I have to be brave enough to take it. This is my chance to matter. Even if there’s hell to pay for it later.
“I do understand.” I approach him, set a hand on his arm. “How could I live with myself—how could I expect to get into Heaven anyway—if I did nothing? If I stopped here and now.”
“You’d find a way,” he says, but I can hear the weakness in it. He knows it’s a lie.
“You said I know you better than anyone, and you must know a little about me by now.”
“And that’s why I can’t.”
I suck in a long breath and let it out in a sigh. “Here’s the deal. You promise to help me recover the rest of the lance and end this race to Armageddon, and, in exchange, if we succeed then…” It hurts to say it, but I have to. “You get my soul.” I raise my hands and wipe off imaginary dust. “It’s the only way I can trust you going forward. You’ll have a real interest in helping me.”
Luke is serious as a cemetery. “Callie, you don’t understand.”
“I do. I know what I’m saying. The library, remember.”
And what came after …
“But…” He searches for words.
“Enough. We have to get going to Lilith’s ASAP.”
Luke continues to stare at me, tilting his head slightly. I wish I could read his mind.
“Or do we need to shake on it?” I ask. He didn’t do that with Solomon Elerion, but then, he was trapped in a pentagram at the time. “Porsoth?” I turn to the demon when Luke doesn’t respond.
“It’s best if you do,” Porsoth says. “But are you absolutely sure—”
“If this is what you want, I agree. It’s a deal.” Luke extends his hand. “I help you, you help me.”
I take his hand and we shake on it, sealing the deal.
“Now,” I ask, pretending I haven’t agreed to give up my soul, “which way to Lilith’s?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LUKE
The corridors of the Keep are closing in on me. I long to be beyond these walls, in the foul air, gray sky above. But I also know that once we’re out there—me, Porsoth, and a human who is good and who I like way too much and has just made a deal to give me her soul—it won’t feel any safer.
Callie can’t fully understand what she’s agreed to, no matter what she says. I should have said no, but …
Assume we do save the world, and then I never see her again. The selfish part of me knows this means that I will. I tell myself I’ll find a way out of it, get Father to change his mind. But if not, that secret part of me, which for the first time in my life I feel actual guilt for having, isn’t hating the idea of Callie living here forever.
I’d get to be her hero on the regular.
Of course, there’s as much chance that we fail miserably. But I’m not going to tell her that.
And changing Father’s mind about anything is easier said than done. He wants me to fail as much as he wants me to succeed. He’s been watching and waiting for a chance like this. He’s not the king imp of
the perverse for nothing. I don’t want to be like him, but I fear that I am. Or worse, him but lesser.
The part about still not sprouting my wings was fresh-ground salt in a tender wound. He’ll cast me out, as his father cast him from Heaven, or worse, unmake me, if I disappoint him too badly.
“Luke?” Callie asks, and I realize I’ve gotten lost in the labyrinthine spiral of my family dynamics.
“Right. This way,” I say and indicate the corridor in front of us. “No time like the present.”
She gives me a skeptical look, but when I don’t answer and start up the hall, she comes along. Porsoth’s hooves click on the stone.
“Luke’s Slytherin all the way, right?” I hear Callie ask Porsoth.
“Perhaps.” Porsoth hedges. “Definitely not a Ravenclaw.”
“I’m a Slytherpuff,” I toss over my shoulder.
“That’s not a thing,” Callie says.
“Sure, it is,” I counter.
Callie sniffs.
She asks Porsoth how he became a tutor and I’m familiar enough with the story to tune it out. I’m stuck on the fact that Mother has the World Watcher, something which has never before happened, and why is that again? It has to be that Father knew I’d need it. How I didn’t connect the dots that he’d use it to spy on his only begotten (for now) son is another indication of how little I’ve been paying attention.
When I tune back in, Porsoth is eliding the true details of the fact being my tutor is a huge step down that he was given only out of admiration for the fearsome position he used to hold. Slowly, he went from all-day and all-night torture and mayhem to more and more time in the Keep’s library followed by a discovery of prophetic scrolls some whispered that he planted himself so he could use them as an excuse to move into the Keep full-time to study them. I’ve never asked.
That Porsoth and Callie are fast friends shouldn’t surprise me. In truth, it doesn’t. I am surprised she seems to take promising her soul more in stride than her brother and best friend having become a secret couple.