Page 27 of The Morning Star
Maybe it was the annihilation of his siblings. And what better way to throw them off balance and draw them in than picking off lesser angels and Grigori, leaving little unsettling hints of his return?
“Thank you,” I told Tasma as I rose. “I appreciate your taking the time to see me.” I was the Iblis and he was supposed to see me whenever I demanded, but still it was good to be polite. Especially since I didn’t have all that much support here in Hel.
“There’s something you should know.” Tasma turned to the Lows and shooed them out the door, waiting a few minutes to ensure they were out of earshot before continuing. “I had a visit from Remiel today.”
I hesitated, anxiously awaiting what he had to say. Was Remiel partnered with Samael on this? Or was he the one behind the whole thing?
“He was asking about the angel infant he’d left with me.”
The air left my lungs. “What…what did he want with it?”
“He wanted to know if I had killed the child per his instructions, because he’d changed his mind. He said he wanted it back.”
I struggled to breathe. “He wants it back?”
Tasma shot me a curious look. “Yes. When he first returned, he went looking for that angel he’d created with and was very upset to find out he’d been killed. A few demons lost their lives over that.”
Once Remiel had found that Bencul couldn’t enter Aaru, he’d abandoned him in Hel. Ditched him with the demon equivalent of a Dear John letter. Bencul probably could have remained safely in Remiel’s household for a while, but it was only a matter of time before someone assumed the angel was up for grabs and snatched him for their own plaything. He’d died soon after Remiel tossed him to the side, killed trying to find their angel offspring.
And I’d promised Bencul as he died that I’d take care of Lux. Taking care of Lux didn’t mean handing him over to a demon who most likely didn’t have the angel’s best interests at heart.
“When he found his angel-toy had been killed, he came straight here, looking for his offspring. He was quite relieved that I hadn’t killed it.”
Fuck. Why couldn’t Tasma have just lied and say he’d done as told? Demons lied all the time. Ancients lied all the time. But this one time, when I really wanted one to lie, he fucking told the truth.
“What exactly did you tell Remiel you did with the baby?” I envisioned me being ambushed, having to fight my way out of Hel. Me fending off hit squads like I’d had to do with Haagenti, trying to keep Lux safe and out of his demon parent’s hands. I needed a united Hel behind me. I needed as many Ancients on my side as possible. This was not the time for a blood-feud over a baby angel.
There was one simple solution to this. And it was a solution I wouldn’t ever consider.
“I told him that I gave it to you.”
Fuck. “And how did he take that news? What did he do?”
“As I said, he was relieved that I hadn’t killed the infant. When I said you had it, he seemed pleased, saying that if you had it, then the baby would still be alive. He said that was splendid, and that he was going to make you an offer you couldn’t refuse.”
I immediately thought of that movie and the horse-head-under-the-bloodsoaked-sheets scene.
“Why didn’t you lie?” This whole thing was a nightmare. I wanted to kill Tasma out of frustration right now, but I needed him. He might be an idiot, and a real weirdo, but he was still and Ancient. I needed everyone I could get on my side right now, even weirdo idiots.
“It’s commonly known that you took Bencul in after Remiel went to Aaru, that you went looking for him and punished the demons responsible for his death. It’s not exactly a mental leap to think you’d come to ensure the baby’s safety if you cared enough for the angel that sired it to avenge his death. Plus the word of an angel in one of your houses was bound to eventually leak out. It was just a matter of time before Remiel found out.” Tasma shrugged. “This way you’ll make some money, or have Remiel owe you a favor and not have to safeguard some angel baby that will become a very coveted toy in a century or so.”
A demon would gladly hand over the troublesome infant in return for a favor from a powerful Ancient. A demon wouldn’t think twice about it. This was the way things went in Hel. Someone else’s creation? Let it die unless it had value, and if it had value, sell or trade it to whoever gave you the best price. We were demons. It’s what we did. Two years ago, it’s what I would have done.
But things had changed. I’d changed.
“So I guess Remiel is looking for me?” I sure as fuck wasn’t going to be looking for him. Screw going to talk to the Ancient about whether he was behind the enforcer deaths. Right now I planned on avoiding the guy as long as I could.
Tasma nodded. “I wanted you to know so you had time to decide how you wanted to negotiate the deal. Remiel’s a powerful ally. This could make a huge difference to how you’re perceived in Hel. His including you in the bid for Aaru, and his respect of you during the planning and the advance brought you a lot of notice. If he publicly acknowledges you as the Iblis, vows that he and his household give you their unequivocal support then, outside of a few stupid dissenters, Hel will be yours. He wants this baby bad enough that you could ask for that in exchange for the angel and you’d get it.”
Tasma sat back, a smug look on his face. He’d given me a head’s up. In his mind, he’d given me the key to my rule of Hel. It was all within my grasp.
Except it wasn’t.
“I’ve got an early morning Ruling Council meeting and a few other urgent things to attend to,” I told the Ancient. “I’ll have to speak with Remiel later.”
He nodded approvingly. “That’s a good strategy. Don’t seem so eager. Let him come to you and hold out for what you really want.”
“Do you think he’ll try to forcibly take the angel from my home?” From what Tasma had said, he’d implied that I’d kept Lux in Hel. That could work to my advantage, but I didn’t want any of my Lows still residing in Hel to be in danger.
