Angel of Chaos (Imp Book 6) (28 page)

There was only one solution, but how I was going to pull it off was beyond me.

“West Virginia it is. Stay put. I’ve got to make a quick trip to Hel then I’ll be back to let you all know what the plan is.”

It was time for me to master a few sins, to be the Iblis and to give Gregory the ‘mighty show of power’ he’d been urging me toward since last year.

–25–

T
he two sorcerers were rather uncomfortable in my demon residence. Hell, I was uncomfortable in my demon residence. It had been Ahriman’s home up until recently, and I still had some very bad memories connected with the place. The ancient demon had burned my home to the ground, and this house of horrors was better than nothing. It did have one benefit: it screamed ‘Iblis’ with the warded gate of fire and walkway of crushed skulls.

“I thought you just wanted to move these ‘Neffy–liam’ from one place to another? Now you need to ward a sanctuary for them against the angels?” Gareth was seated on a demon–hide couch, paging through one of the five massive spell books he’d brought with him. He rubbed a finger along his nose as he spoke, leaving a streak of charcoal dust on his tanned skin.

Kirby perched on a carved chair that had a mosaic of teeth imbedded in the ladder back. He shook his head, rubbing his own spell book with a reassuring hand. “Um, aren’t there only two of them? The adult and the pregnant human? Bring them to Hel. The angels would never come here.”

I wasn’t sure the elves and demons would be any less lethal than the angels once they discovered Nephilim in their midst. And there was one other little problem. “They won’t come to Hel and are refusing to leave the compromised sanctuary. Almost two–hundred–million square miles of land on the damned planet, and they won't budge from West Virginia.”

Another streak of gray joined the first on Gareth’s face. “So it’s not really a matter of hiding them, it’s creating some kind of impenetrable barrier the angels can’t cross.”

That was a good idea, and I knew someone who did that sort of thing, except the scope was probably far beyond Michelle’s aunt. I didn’t think there was enough brick dust locally, and by the time she’d walked around the state three times spouting her incantations, Jaq and Harper’s son would be long dead. Angels took forever to make up their minds about shit, but once they did, they moved fast.

“I know someone who has a spell like that, but there’s no time. I’m not sure she could even do it. The area’s just too large.”

“How big of an area are we talking about?” Kirby asked.

I squirmed. “About twenty–four–thousand miles. Give or take. I’m thinking we can cut out that weird bit up north and no one would notice.”

Kirby’s mouth dropped open. “Twenty–four–thousand miles for two people and a baby? Sheesh, Sam, the human lands in Hel aren’t that big. What do they need all that space for?”

“Well, it seems the angels have discovered that an entire race of shape–shifters are descended from Nephilim, and they are going to wipe them out. Even twenty–four–thousand miles might not be big enough. Hopefully some werewolves will be able to hide elsewhere.”

Gareth snapped his book shut. “Sam, what are you thinking? You can’t trap an entire race of people in a magical bubble for long. The angels are going hammer at it until they get in. And from what I’ve heard about angels, it won’t take them long.”

“You’ve got to bring them to Hel,” Kirby urged. “It’s your domain, the only place they’ll be safe from the angels. Bring them to Hel.”

Or bring Hel to them. Michelle’s idea of demanding responsibility for the Nephilim and werewolves was looking more and more like the best route. Pretty depressing. Either Kirby or Michelle’s suggestions were about as farfetched as sprinkling brick dust around the perimeter of a state, but there wasn’t anything else on the table right now.

“So let’s say I get ten thousand or so werewolves and a handful of Nephilim to agree to come to Hel. How do I transport them? They’re scattered all over the planet. Do I get them all in a central place, have everyone hold hands and activate an elf button?”

“Besides the fact that I doubt an elf button would transport that many, grouping everyone in a single place would just make it easy for the angels to kill them with one blow.” Gareth started paging through another of his books. “There’s got to be a way to open quick, temporary rifts, like the elven traps. The angels can’t see those for some unknown reason.”

I could probably get a few past the gate guardians at a time, but the angel–made gates that were my main mode of transport to and from Hel wouldn’t be an option for mass travel. Unless I managed to get all the gate guardians to go to Disney World for a week or two … hmmm, maybe if I announced the theme park had all–you–can–eat sweet and sour pork.

“There’s Mordical’s Fissure,” Kirby commented, reading through his own book. “But it’s unstable. Half of them would most likely wind up in another dimension.”

Ugh. I remembered Jell–o World from a few years back. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Well, maybe Gabriel, because that would be funny, but no one else.

“You need an elf,” Gareth announced, smearing another line across his forehead. He was beginning to look like a commando from a B movie.

“Yeah,” Kirby jumped up in excitement. “They moved large groups of troops during the war, and they’ve transported citizens for celebrations using inter–realm gates. A really powerful elf could do this.”

Yeah, and I had so many powerful elves amongst my friends. “Even if I could bully one to do this, I’d need to have them on the other side of the gates. No threat would be enough to get them to break with millions of years of tradition.”

“And even if it worked, you said most of the werewolves and Neffies wouldn’t leave.” Gareth set aside his books and rested his chin on his hands. “The angels would slaughter the remaining ones. The ones who came to Hel, even if we manage to transport them safely, would struggle in their new life. You’d have to carve out more of the elf lands, or break off some of the demon ones. We’re not able to do adequate climate control on Libertytown. These people would be isolated in a strange world, in a hostile and desolate environment. They may wish they’d stayed and taken their chances.”

Fuck. That left only one option.

“Then I need to claim them, extend my reach to their present realm and insist the angels grant them co–existence with the humans.”

It was so quiet I could have heard crickets chirp — if Ahriman hadn’t killed them all and made a lovely mosaic with their exoskeletons, that is.

“Hello? Feedback? Any thoughts on this?”

“Can I have your stuff when they kill you?” Leave it to Kirby to crack jokes at a time like this. He truly was a human after my own heart.

“I’m serious. I’m the Iblis. I’ve got a big bad sword that’s actually more useful as a shotgun. I’ve killed six or seven angels — I can’t quite remember; I’m starting to lose count. I could pull this off.”

I couldn’t pull this off, but I was hoping among the three of us, we’d come up with a way I could.

“No offense, Sam, but you can’t even manage to hold Hel together. Yeah, you and your crazy household got the elves to back down, but they’re starting to make noise about war again. Unless you run around flashing your wings and blowing stuff up on a regular basis, things in Hel are going to slide back to the way they were before.”

“And beyond your household, none of the demons show you any additional respect. It’s not like you’re
really
the ruler of Hel.”

“But the angels think I am,” I argued. “They seriously think we’re all organized into a bunch of legions, poised to attack Aaru and reclaim heaven at any moment.”

Hey. That gave me an idea. “How many demons would make up a legion?”

Both magic users looked at me with blank faces. Gareth cleared his throat. “You’re going to gate into Aaru with a–few–hundred demons and demand they allow the werewolves and Nephilim to live, or you’ll attack them?”

“No, that’s a Pearl Harbor move. I’m shooting more for an American Revolution scenario. The angels are busy with their own issues. If I come in and decide to seize what to them has only been a problem, a thorn in their side for the last ten–thousand years, they’ll make a lot of noise and let me have it with a few concessions that will allow them to save face.”

That was greeted with more blank expressions. “I think you’ve been hanging out with angels too long,” Kirby slowly announced.

“Ruling Council meetings; they’re not something I’d recommend.”

“I still think you’re going to wind up getting killed,” Gareth warned. “But you know the angels better than either of us.”

“Maybe less than a legion.” Kirby stood and paced, waving his hands excitedly. “Too many demons and you’ll get their backs up. They’ll think you’re a threat to Aaru and will just take you out.”

“Maybe a dozen.” Gareth was finally getting on board with the plan. “They’ll think you’re some crazy eccentric. Not dangerous enough to worry about in Aaru, but enough of a pest that you’ll make a good scapegoat. If they want to unload this problem just as much as you say they do, they’ll go for it.”

“Two dozen. Remember, it needs to be enough demons for them to save face when they say they surrendered this responsibility.”

Kirby shook his head. “A dozen. They can say they’re humoring you because they’re busy and throw it all in committee for another ten–thousand years.”

Forget angels, this mage had been hanging out with elves for too long.

“Okay, but I get to shoot some stuff up. It’s in keeping with my ‘crazy’ persona, and I love how tetchy they all get when I bring out the Iblis weapon.”

“Don’t kill any of them,” Gareth warned. “You’re liable to ruin the whole thing if you go killing some angel’s cousin twice removed.”

I agreed but pouted just a bit to show my disappointment at not being able to dust a few angels.

“Now we need to turn our attention back to transportation,” Gareth added gloomily, sitting down and pulling a spell book back on his lap. “There’s the same problem getting a dozen demons to whatever location you choose. Can’t send them through a gate without setting off all sorts of early–warning alarms. And I know there aren’t enough of Kirby’s Marbles ready for this job.”

“How long do you need them there?” Kirby was staring off into space. Or staring at a gruesome set of bloody paw prints along one wall. I wasn’t sure which.

“My legion of twelve? I don’t know. Couple of hours maybe.”

Kirby wrinkled his thin nose. “Drat. I’ve been working on Kirby’s Marble, trying to adjust it so it can transport more than one. Right now it works, but the passenger only stays for ten or fifteen minutes. Then he rebounds, like a rubber band. And he’s throwing up everything in his digestive system for the next day, too.”

This might work, although I’d need to keep the nasty side effects from my household. The time issue could be a problem, but I’d just talk really fast — and ensure I had a few angels to hurry things along a bit on their side. I crossed my fingers and hoped that Gregory would be on board with this insane plan, because it was all we had.

“I can do fifteen minutes. How many passengers can it move?”

“Five.”

Well, that was a whole lot less than twelve. So much for the whole legion thing.

“Is there an illusion that will make five seem like a dozen?” I was grasping at straws. Angels wouldn’t fall for an illusion, even a skillfully crafted one. Their primary sensory input was related to energy signature.

“Yes, but it’s strictly visual.” Gareth told me. “Elves use something similar to bait their traps since humans are primarily visual beings.”

“Energy.” I pointed a finger at Gareth, startling the elder man into dropping his spell book. “I don’t need a dozen demons; I just need five kick–ass ancient ones. Is there a spell that masks demon energy signature, or makes a low–level demon look like a high–level one?”

The men exchanged a quick glance. “Yes, but I’m not positive it will work well enough to convince the angels,” Kirby told me.

Gareth bent to pick up the fallen spell book. “Elven lords use it sometimes when they are hiring a demon and can’t afford a high–level one. Cheap demon plus quick spell, and you’ve got instant intimidation. Lasts for a couple of hours.”

“Deal,” I rose to my feet. “I’ll have my household members meet me at Gareth’s shop in Dis, so we can arrive together. When do you need the focus back for modification, Kirby?”

“I can do that right before you transport. When do you want all this to happen?”

“Let’s shoot for forty–eight hours, but I’ll need to confirm with you after I speak with the angels.”

“You’re going to warn them?” Gareth asked.

“No, I’m going to invite them to the party.”

***

“What do we get out of this?” Radl squinted his eyes in suspicion. “You gonna pay us? We getta fuck or kill somethen?”

I swept my arms outward in a grand gesture. “You get to meet an angel! Lots of angels, actually.”

Snip’s six eyes widened alarmingly. “Don’t think that sounds like such a good deal, Mistress. I’d hoped to get through many thousands of years afore meeting an angel. I’d hate to have my head chopped off and turned into dust at this young age. I’s not even four hundred yet.”

“No, no, they won’t kill you. You just stand there and stare at them for fifteen minutes or so, and then the spell ends and you’ll be safely back home. Easy peasy, and you’ll get to tell everyone that you saw an angel and lived to tell the tale.”

“I’m a Low,” Pustule whined. “I can’t activate the gates. I’ve never Owned a human — I can’t assume a human form. What good would I be to you? Mistress, I think I would serve you far better by remaining behind and keeping your house free of crawling vermin.”

“You’re perfect for this job!” These five Low were all I could afford after blowing a huge sum this year on magical supplies and consulting. “Another magical spell will make you seem thirty levels above Low. The angels will quake before you. It’s the chance of a lifetime.”

“And why are we getting this ‘chance of a lifetime’?” Radl drawled. “Cause we’re expendable with no weregeld? Cause we’re stupid? I didn’t get to be six hundred and twenty–two without taking adequate precautions, you know.”