Page 63 of Kiss the Filthiest King
Though my ears catch it, I can tell it's meant to be private.
The sorcerer sighs, and extends his hands. Sunglasses that were nowhere to be seen moments ago appear, and he put them on. The next instant, all curtains are drawn back, tied by red velvet ropes.
"There, princess."
"Oh, you didn't have to—" Kleos starts. “It’s your home. If you prefer…”
"Nonsense. The client—or the client's little guardian friends, in this case—is always right. Even when dragging me out of bed after two hours. Now, what do we know of the target, please?"
Darina only gave me a name and a race to go by, which isn't much. I assume there are many Seevars in the hells; it would be like searching for one specific David on Earth. Even if Seevar is a rarer name—I'm not sure it is—it can't be easy.
The sorcerer doesn't seem bothered. "And he was on Earth recently?"
I hesitate. "About two weeks ago, your time. In one of the pathfinder halfway pubs. It's notexactlyon Earth."
"But he interacted with someone from here." He shrugs. "That leaves a trace I should be able to track. Between the name, the race, and general location, I should be able to pin him down."
I must admit I'm impressed.
"It would help to have an object that belongs to the girl he fucked, though."
"I have something!" Rain cuts in, ruffling through her shoulder bag.She brandishes a hair brush with a few strands of blue hair. "There. I figured I might as well have it, in case I needed to try to locate Rina."
"That'll make my job a lot easier," he assures her. "And cheaper for you. Now come on in. Touch nothing. And if something tries to bite you, don't worry, it's probably not rabid."
"Bite?" Kleos yelps. "What would try to bite?"
He flashes her a smile full of sharp, pointed teeth. "Unless you ask very nicely, just my cat."
The sorcerer's den is more of a man cave, really. A minibar, a large collection of books, and a shelf full of objects I mostly can't identify. Those I recognize are highly dangerous.
He invites us to sit on low, plush sofas, and serves us a round of wine, before settling into a bloodred Chesterfield armchair, closing his eyes, the hairbrush in his hands.
At first, nothing happens at all, and I wonder if we're being scammed by a charlatan. And then, although there were no incantations, no ingredients, or spells that I could see, there's a man standing on the coffee table, looking thoroughly confused.
He's tall, bald, and with silver eyes not unlike Silver's, or even Lucian’s. His skin is brown, but with a reddish hue not found in humans, likefired clay.
He tries to move, and a set of four chains appear, blue, seemingly made of living light. When he's still again, they disappear.
"Sorry, my friend," Lucian says pleasantly. Right now, his eyes are no longer pale grayish silver; like the chains, they're bright blue. "A mere precaution for anything called from the other world, you understand."
"What's the meaning of this?" the creature roars.
Lucian raises both hands in sign of surrender. "Don't ask me, I'm merely the messenger boy. My friends have questions for you. Know that I will release you, and let you return to your affairs the moment you're done, so long as you don't attempt anything too naughty."
The demon doesn't seem appeased.
I stand. "The new queen of Ilvaris sent me to talk to you, Seevar. You fed from her down in the pathfinder's halfway house, and she helped you escape. Should you aid us now, she'll consider you debt to her paid."
His expression switches from annoyance to recognition, then amusement. "A fairy queen, huh? No wonder she was delicious." He inclines his head. "Yes, I do owe her much. Proceed."
"We need information about gods we, in our world, call the All and Undoing." Unfortunately, gods tend to change names as often as most people change shirts, so that's not telling him much. "It's a couple, very old, and warring. Our world was built to contain them, initially."
A moment passes, then the demon nods. "Earth and Sky. Gaia and Uranus. We know of these forces. They were banished and bound to stop them from destroying worlds as they fought each other."
I actively try not to groan. That's not good. At all.
"Gaia and Uranus?TheGaia and Uranus," Silver repeats. "Are we actually talking about?—"
