“Not a call. He wants to see us in person. Now.”
24
She choked. “He’s coming here?”
“No, we’re going there. It turns out that if there’s a free demon on each side, opening a portal is a lot easier.”
“Like him ordering us a car service from Hell.” She didn’t want to do this. Maybe they could claim they couldn’t find whatever the material components of the spell were. “What do you have to do?”
“When he’s powering it, not much.” Luke clasped her hand and then said a single throat-shredding sentence.
With a puff of brimstone, the portal opened right under their feet. She tumbled through noxious darkness that was becoming distressingly familiar in the way of her least favorite subway stations. They landed in a pile. She was certain that Bel’aliol had chosen which geometric plane to anchor his portal through the metaphysical planes specifically to result in this lack of dignity. They weren’t even in his office—they’d been dumped in what looked like a dingy reception area.
The demon at the front desk was on a call and ignored them. She took a bite of some kind of meat still on the bone, and chewed it, heedless of the smacking sounds she had to be making into the phone. “—and then he says tome, no baby limbs in the refrigerator, I’m on a diet. Can you believe that? Just because he’s on some fad diet doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”
Morgan groaned and disentangled herself from Lucareoth, who had reverted to his true form upon crossing planes. One of his horns was poking her, and not in the fun way.
“Fine, let’s get this over with,” she grumbled and started for the door into the office. Worst return-to-office mandate ever.
“You can’t go in there without an appointment,” the demon at the desk spoke up.
“We have an—” Lucareoth started, but the demon at the desk held up a cloven hoof. It was impressive that she’d managed to even balance the phone, although her ram’s horns did seem to make a good brace for the top.
“Hold on, Erekekek-Maurice, I gotta put you on hold. Yeah, dropped right out of the ceiling, all stinking of Consumable Souls,” the reception demon said, snapping another tendon like bloody chewing gum. “IDs, please.”
Lucareoth sighed and handed over something that looked like an obsidian shard. Morgan fumbled out her driver’s license. The receptionist stuck out a tongue, and kept sticking it out until it had extended a good foot and a half from her mouth, before running it delicately along Lucareoth’s shard.
“Sign here,” she mumbled around the tongue with ill grace. She looked at the flimsy piece of plastic in Morgan’s hand. “What kind of ID is that? If you don’t have actual ID, I’m going to have to call security.”
“I’ll sign her in as a visitor,” Lucareoth said hastily.
“I still can’t accept that as a form of ID,” the receptionistsaid, snapping yet another tendon. She raised a hoof to punch a button on the phone.
“Bel’aliol is expecting her!” Lucareoth said, looking panicked and grabbing Morgan’s hand.
“Fine,” the receptionist said, giving him an irritated look. “But you’re responsible for her.”
“I already am,” Lucareoth said. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and she tried for his sake to be reassured.
But at least they were waved in.
Within the maze of cubicles, a similar level of panic was unfolding. As above, so below indeed. The crocodile-headed demon trundled out from one cubicle, carrying the kitchen cauldron in both hands, with a large polearm awkwardly propped over one shoulder.
“Lucareoth!” she said in surprise, fumbling the polearm so the bottom slid down between her ankles.
“What are you doing?” Lucareoth asked, a little incredulous.
“Getting ready for the war,” the crocodile demon replied, trying to shift the cauldron so she could pick up the polearm again. “Isn’t that why you’re back?”
“I don’t know, Bel’aliol summoned me. Us.” Lucareoth looked her up and down. “What does the blood steamer have to do with it?”
“Oh. Uh. I thought it would be safer out of the kitchen. If we’re invaded.”
Morgan wondered how long it would take her coworkers to notice.
“Lucareoth!” It was the tarantula demon, all four hands clutching four separate hand axes. The crocodile demon seized the opportunity to scurry off, nearly tripping overthe polearm. “Of course. And I don’t suppose you filled out the interplanar forms this time, either.”
“Bel’aliol didn’t give me time. Are we really being invaded?” Lucareoth looked around. In the next cubicle down, someone had wheeled the copier to block off the entrance to their cubicle, forming a little barricade. He moved slightly in front of Morgan, putting himself between her and his armed coworker. She didn’t think it would help, but she appreciated the thought.
