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“I’ll tell you right now that you have no chance of winning that game against someone like Mason Faim.”
“Can’t you teach me?”
“The Infinite Game is like its name. Infinite. It has no boundaries. The rules are impossible to explain and harder to learn. It’s life, with all its complexities and contradictions. It takes longer than a human life-span to become proficient at it. If Mason has become adept at it in the few months he was in Tartarus, he had help.”
“Deumos or Merihim or one of their Angra toadies,” says Samael.
“Where did they learn it?”
“If they’re in contact with the Angra they could have learned from them.”
“If I killed both of them, would this thing be over?”
Muninn shakes his head.
“I wish it were that simple. But I can’t say I’d object to seeing them gone.”
Chaya stops by the kitchen door and looks us over.
“What’s this thing still doing here? I thought you were sending him back to wherever it is he wallows.”
“I wallow in L.A. And yeah, it can smell funny on a hot day, but at least it’s not raining fucking blood.”
“This is what happens when you don’t discipline earthly trash regularly. That was su
pposed to be your job. Wasn’t it, Muninn? But you hid in your cave, playing with your toys while mortal vermin ran wild over the world.”
“Calm down,” says Muninn.
“I won’t. Nefesh is dead because of you. You doted on humans and coddled an Abomination. Nefesh is dead and Ruach will finish us all.”
Muninn gets up. I’ve seen this kind of family square dance before. One parent tries to talk the other one down and it just makes the batshit one even crazier.
Muninn says, “Let’s talk this over in private.”
“Look at you. Taking this monster’s side over your own brother’s. Maybe I should have stayed with Ruach. Maybe I should go back. He’d gladly accept me as an ally against you, the family traitor.”
Light flares up in the room. I have to cover my eyes, and when I take my hand away, Samael is standing in front of Chaya with his Gladius blazing.
“Do you recognize this, old man?” he says. “It almost laid you low once. You’re not half the power you were in the old days. Should we test that with a rematch?”
“Samael,” says Muninn. “Stop it.”
Samael keeps the Gladius blazing for a few seconds before letting it go out. Chaya leaves without saying a word.
“You should go and apologize,” says Muninn.
“Among the many things I should do, that’s at the bottom of the list.”
Muninn runs a hand through his hair.
“The two of you are making me old faster than Ruach and Chaya combined.”
“Listen,” I say. “I’m sorry to stomp into the middle of this Hatfields and McCoys thing you have going with yourself, but you were saying something about how I could play the game with Mason.”
Muninn looks at me like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. I can’t tell if he’s distracted by the fight or getting slow as he gets weak. Then his eyes focus and he nods.
“You can’t beat Mason, but maybe you can play him to a draw. Win a few small victories here and there. With that, you might get enough information that you won’t need it all. Bring me whatever you find and we’ll see what we can do with it.”
