Celestial blood.
“How dare you bring that celestial traitor here!” shouted a warlock in the front row. “She killed Javos. She deserves to die.”
“I didn’t kill him,” I said. “A rogue angel did, not someone working for the celestials or heaven.”
“All angels serve heaven,” said an incubus in the row behind. “Heaven has declared war on us.”
Murmurs to that effect turned into full-blown roars. They’d be throwing the furniture next.
“Hey!” I shouted at the warlocks. “If you saw the video, it’s obvious I didn’t lay a finger on Javos. And it wasn’t the guild, either. Ask any witnesses and they’ll say the celestials were nowhere near him.”
Nikolas strode to the front of the room. Darkness spread out from his hands, which momentarily stopped the shouts as everyone turned to face him.
“We’re here to discuss the matter of leadership,” he said. “If war is to be made, it’s the leader who has the authority to do so, and last I saw, I had more votes than anyone else in this room. So let’s get this over with.”
Some of the noise died down. Most of the warlocks present would have known Nikolas for years, which surely counted for something—but if I could depend on anything, it was the Divine Agents’ ability to get their way.
“Anyone who wishes to try out for the position as leader of the warlocks in this city is to come to the front of the room and make your argument when I say so,” he said. “We’ve done enough dithering, and it’s only served to make us look weak in the eyes of heaven and hell.”
“I wish to challenge you, then,” said a male voice. A warlock strode forwards—to be precise, the dude who’d once tried to stab me to death with a weaponised paintbrush. “That girlfriend of yours assaulted me.”
Seriously?
“Anyone else?” asked Nikolas.
An incubus put up a hand, while a horned demon shoved his way to the front of the room. Apparently, everyone wanted to say their piece.
It became clear within minutes that none of them had any experience in public speaking, let alone trying to wrangle a crowd. Nikolas, who’d taken over the warlocks on Babylon at fifteen, had far more experience than they did. Each candidate sloped off, one at a time, to boos and disgruntled murmurs.
“Nobody else?” Nikolas asked, when the front of the room was clear once more.
“Me,” said a gravelly voice. The speaker had cloven hooves rather than feet, and horns sprouting from his head between tufts of dark bluish hair. He strode to the front of the room, kicking a chair over in the process. “I’m here representing a group of warlocks who are less than happy about how things in this city have been run.”
That’s him.
“The enemy has had us outmatched for a long time,” he said, addressing the room. “I’d say the time is long overdue to stop fearing heaven and take the fight to them. Including those cowardly celestials in charge of the guild.”
A rumble of voices rose. With warlocks, it was hard to tell if they were agreeing or just growling at one another.
“The celestials have lived here as long as we have, Talon,” warned Nikolas. “In fact, they built this city from the ground up.”
“They built on top of a city that used to be ours,” said the warlock. “It was never theirs. We have walked this Earth longer than they have, and they’ve killed too many of us to count.”
“If you mean law-breaking demons, then you’d be correct,” said Nikolas. “If you wish to live in this world, then obey the laws of the place you choose to be your home or stay in the netherworld. It’s always been that simple.”
“No,” said the warlock. “It’s not simple. Not when they bring angels and heavenly light into this realm and use it to destroy us. Javos died because of them.”
“The celestials weren’t the ones who killed anyone,” I said. “A rebel angel killed Javos. Tried to kill me, too. If I were on his side, he wouldn’t have. There were witnesses.”
“What witnesses?” said the warlock. “Celestials. How convenient. Maybe their rules need to be thrown away for the good of us all.”
Several murmurs of agreement followed. Damn him. He was playing on their hidden anger at the guild. Because let’s face it, the celestials had often made bad calls, especially recently. Locking up warlocks. Callously leaving infected vampires to die. Letting the Divine Agents sneak in under their noses—not that anyone in this room would believe that. No, they’d lay the blame at the feet of the guild. Always.
“I’m not saying the guild is perfect,” I said. “Nikolas doesn’t like them at all, for the record. Just ask him.”
“I think the guild is flawed and doomed to fall of its own accord,” Nikolas said. “It doesn’t need our help to do so.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d said that. It was the first time I almost hoped he was right.
“There is no point in marching to war on the celestials,” Nikolas went on. “The rebel angels aren’t on Earth either. They’re in Purgatory, and even the celestials are unable to reach them. Their rebellion is heaven’s mess to fix, not ours. If we go against this city’s laws, all we do is make life more difficult for ourselves. Javos was killed because the rogues had no intention of negotiating with either the celestials or the warlocks.”
“Then what do you propose we do?” demanded Talon. “Let Javos’s death go unpunished?”
“If they come here again?” Nikolas looked more demonic than before, his eyes glowing gold, his wings dark as night. “If they come here again, we will meet them with an army, make no mistake. But I will not let them allow us to destroy ourselves in the meantime. If the false angels return, I will lead you to war against them.”
Damn, he was good. All eyes were on him now, and the other warlocks seemed to have forgotten I was there at all. Please. Take his word for it. The most important thing was getting the warlocks under Nikolas’s control. Then he could tell them the truth, when they were ready.
When Nikolas called the vote, a clear majority raised their hands in his favour. And that was that.
The noise died down, and the warlocks got to their feet, leaving the room. More than a few glared at me as they passed by. They’d voted for Nikolas, not me, after all. I remained standing against the wall, one eye on the corner of the room where Talon and his followers gathered.
Even if they weren’t acting on orders from outside this realm, what they’d said about the celestials made me suspicious they wouldn’t let one defeat hold them back. If they launched an attack, there would be deaths on both sides, and the Divine Agents would stand there and let them destroy one another.
Nikolas moved to my side, following my line of sight. “I’ll handle it,” I murmured to him.
He gave me a brief nod and left the room. Finally, the only people left in the room were me and the small group of warlocks following Talon.
The hooved warlock scanned the room, his gaze snagging on me. A glow lit up his hand.
“Hey there,” I said, approaching him. “Not thinking of doing anything stupid like attacking your new leader or his partner, are you?”
12
“Get out, celestial,” growled the warlock. His two buddies—apparently even warlock bullies needed hangers-on—murmured agreement, cracking their knuckles threateningly.
“I didn’t see a sign on the door saying, ‘no celestials here’,” I said. “Also, I’m as much a demon as any of you, and more than some. And for the record, I’m not with the guild. I’m a free agent. So if you get any ideas about striking down your new leader, you won’t be able to pin whatever I do to you on the other celestials.”
“Your magic is nothing compared to ours, celestial.”
He raised a hand, and I did likewise, his magic rushing into my demon mark. “I can steal your magic,” I told him. “That’s my demon power.”
“Thieving bitch,” he hissed. “You gained your magic through trickery and deceit. You betrayed both heaven and hell.”
“Who told you that?” I asked. “Not a celestial, surely. Because that would involve admitting you were involved in a scheme to bring them down yourself, and that you know perfectly well who my powers came from. Wouldn’t want the others to know about that, would you?”
He flushed all the way to his horns. “What are you accusing me of, celestial?”
“Treason, obviously.”
He raised a hand, and his magic rushed into my demon mark once more.
“We can do this all day,” I said. “There’s no limit to how much of your power I can take. And if you decide to do anything stupid like declare war on the guild, then I’ll stop you.”
“You claim not to belong to the guild any longer, yet you still defend them?” he growled, and his two warlock buddies growled in agreement.
“Do you really want them to fight back?” I asked. “Because that’s what you’ll get if you strike them: armies of celestials in the streets, burning every warlock they see. Doesn’t seem a great outcome for you.”
“Heaven’s forces as good as declared war on us.”
“You can cut the charade.” I let Abyss’s magic flow through my demon mark, transforming me into a mirror image of the hooved warlock. The warlock gawped at me, rendered speechless at the sight of his own reflection come to life. I probed the surface of his thoughts, just for a second—long enough to determine I was right.
“What… are you?” he growled.
I turned back into Devi again. “You gave the warlocks’ supplies to a group of rogue Grade Four celestials in the hope that they’d replace the guild and make it easier for you to drive them out of the city.”
He opened and closed his mouth, his face ashen. I’d read his mind, and he had no argument to defend himself with. No rehearsed story. I’d bet that he hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to seize control of the warlocks and wipe out the celestials in one go, and now he was severely regretting that decision.
“They told you,” Talon said, his voice quieter, his aura darker.
“Because they’re the ones who killed Javos,” I said. “And I can make that information public, if I want.”
The warlocks all backed away, their fear almost as palpable as the magic I’d drawn into my demon mark.
“You’re lying,” said Talon. “The rebels’ enemies are the guild, not the warlocks. They intended to establish a new order in which warlocks are allowed the freedoms they rightfully deserve. No celestials will be permitted to harm us again. If heaven is allowed to have its own foot-soldiers here, then so should hell.”
“The celestials don’t kill warlocks,” I said. “They’re not supposed to, anyway. If they do, they face the law. Just like you will if anyone finds out what you did. Besides, the rogue celestials wanted to take over the guild for their own gain, and they don’t give a shit about you. Anyone with half a brain could figure that out.”
“Do not mock me, celestial,” growled the warlock. “We are more than a match for a few rogues. I refuse to believe they killed Javos so easily.”
“The rogues are now angels, not simply celestials,” I informed him. “One of them is, anyway. Ever met Lythocrax?”
His blank expression answered that question. So he’d been operating completely in ignorance. It shouldn’t surprise me, given the Divine Agents’ ways.
“Lythocrax was a fallen angel who fell on purpose to infiltrate hell,” I told him. “A rebel. He tricked warlocks, celestials, demons—anyone he could reach. He never spoke to them in person. Every single person he tricked believed they were acting of their own free will. I suppose it was a demon who told you to help the rogue celestials a few weeks ago?”
“The celestials contacted me themselves.” He stepped back, and his hangers-on did likewise. “Stay away from me, celestial, and if you tell anyone what you know, I’ll kill you.”
And he ran, fleeing like hell itself was on his tail.
Shadows appeared beside me, and Nikolas stepped out of them. “I can convince him to stay,” he said. “Or send someone after him.”
“No need,” I said. “He’s running scared. Besides, I can easily find out what else he knows without having to interrogate him.”
I drew on Abyss’s power and transformed into Talon again. His small, terrified mind wasn’t hard to probe, and was much less unpleasant than Lythocrax’s—though not fun to be in. I felt his annoyance, anger, but not burning rage. It didn’t hold a candle to mine, anyway.
I turned to Nikolas, still wearing the warlock’s skin. “He’s pissed, but he’s not actually going to try to bump me off now he’s seen what my magic does. Pretty sure he’s scared of both of us, especially now we know he traded behind the warlocks’ backs.”
“He also lives on the city’s outskirts, not far from where those celestials set up their base,” Nikolas put in. “I suspected he might try something if he didn’t win the vote, so I’m intending to send people after him.
“Good plan. I didn’t know warlocks lived that far out. I don’t know if any of the celestials’ resources are still in this realm, but maybe…”
I dug deep into the warlock’s mind, pushing for answers. Harvey and the others hadn’t moved outside the city until recently, so the trade had started after I’d killed the vampires trading behind the guild’s back on Pandemonium. The vampires weren’t responsible. This was more recent.
A clear image appeared in my mind. Five glowing points of a pentagram, gleaming in celestial light on the ground. Beside it, several celestials carried a sheet of demonglass out of the portal, reflecting the celestial light back at them. The warlock whose eyes I watched through stepped backwards as though scared the light would burn him.
Then I spotted someone else in the portal, a familiar horned head poking out from between the glowing lines. A demon, watching the celestial rogues and warlocks carry the demonglass onto Earth.
“Dienes,” I said, blinking the memory away. “I should have guessed he’d go from one set of traitors to another.”
He’d been there from the beginning. I should have killed him when I had the chance.
Crap. He’s still in the palace, with Zadok. Maybe whispering in his ears, urging him to start wars on the Divine Agents’ orders.
Nikolas turned to me, his eyes widening. “Dienes traded the demonglass? Did you see who put their magic into it?”
“No, I didn’t see any demon magic in the memory. I’m guessing it was done before it was smuggled to Earth, but I might be wrong.”
More to the point, a sheet of demonglass that size shouldn’t be hard to track. But in all the last few months hopping around the city, I’d never run into it. What did they do with it, then?
“Are you going to question the demon?” Nikolas asked.
“I’ll have to. Now.” That’s what I got for trusting anyone from the netherworld to turn over a new leaf. I’d known Dienes was working with the enemy and let him live, and look where it got me. “Is anyone else inside this building?”
“The warlocks who actually own the house live upstairs,” he answered.
“Okay. I won’t do anything too drastic.” I burned five pentagram points onto the wall. “Hey, Dienes, get the hell out here.”
There was a burst of fire, then shadow, and Zadok’s head appeared. He smiled widely, his dark red hair reflecting the light.
I scowled at him. “I asked for Dienes.”
“He’s currently being used for target practice,” said Zadok. “Devi, do my eyes deceive me, or is that my brother behind you?”
“Zadok,” said Nikolas. “What have you done with the messenger demon?”
“It’s spectacular to see you, too, brother,” Zadok said. “What do you want with the little demon?”
“He’s a traitor,” I said to him. “He traded with rogue celestials behind the guild’s back.”
“Rogue celestials? Intriguing.”
“Don’t you start,” I said. “The rogue celestials are dead set on using Earth as their personal battlefield, and
that little shit of a demon handed them the ammunition.”
“Remind me why I should care about the fate of the guild?”
I groaned. “Not you, too. Look, it’s your property he’s sneakily trading behind your back.”
He tilted his head. “The demon hasn’t left the palace since I took power, Devi. Are you sure you didn’t just miss me?”
“The palace is made out of demonglass,” I said. “Dienes can get to any realm from there, you know that. Besides, this happened weeks or months ago.”
“Then if the supposed props are in your realm, shouldn’t you be looking for them?” he said.
“The celestial rogues must have hidden them before they jetted off to Purgatory. Besides, I want to talk to him in person. Maybe he’s betraying you, too.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Zadok’s head disappeared from the pentagram.
A moment later, a struggling horned demon appeared, Zadok’s grip tight on his arms.
“Devi!” Dienes squirmed and squeaked, terror suffusing his features.
“Watch it,” I said. “You didn’t think you’d get away with betraying me twice, did you?”
“I have not betrayed anyone, Devi, I swear it!”
“Spare me,” I said. “You’re the person who traded supplies to the rebel celestials. You handed demonglass to them, Dienes. You know that’s a restricted substance on Earth. Don’t deny it.”
“We had plenty of demonglass and no use for it,” he squeaked. “Why, I thought they were with the guild.”
“Like hell. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, burn alive.”
He screamed as I fired off a bolt of celestial power, narrowly missing him. Grinning, Zadok dragged him back into view. “Finish him off,” he said.
“Please, Devi,” sobbed Dienes. “I’ll tell you anything—anything. Ask me anything and I swear I will deliver.”
“I doubt there’s anything you can give me,” I said. “Unless you know how I might go about getting a demon name? Or the names of anyone on your realm who might have dealt with Lythocrax?”
Celestial Storm Page 11