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He reddened, so much that I had to stop myself from laughing. “This is the thanks I get. Honestly. I come here bearing information – information that could prove beneficial to your cause, no less – and I’m treated like some common peeping Tom.”
I grinned at him. “Aww, you’re more precious to me than that, Raz. More important. A peeping Thomas.”
He stamped his feet. “I hate you both. If the two of you are done mocking me – I’m here to talk about Quilliam.”
Both Florian and I stopped chuckling. I straightened myself up, curious. Raziel grinned smugly and folded his arms.
“Ah, you see? Now I’ve got your attention.”
“Of course you do.” I set my coconut shell down, then cracked my knuckles, doing none of it on purpose, my body simply reacting appropriately whenever it came into contact with anything Quilliam-adjacent. “This is about some jerk who tried to kill us. What do you know about him?”
“Just enough to tell you that he isn’t as common an enemy as you might think. The man is an accomplished magus. That much is clear. But there is also the matter of his parentage. You told me that when he attempted to capture you – the fight with Mammon, correct? You told me that there was some mention of Quilliam being called a princeling, either by Mammon itself or Quilliam’s demon subordinates.”
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. “Yeah. Princeling. The same word that some of you entities like to use for me. And I still haven’t quite figured that out.”
Raziel nodded. “Look it up in a dictionary and you’ll find that it is simply a term for a young prince, one who hasn’t come into the fullness of his role. That describes you quite well, Mason, especially considering how there is no true formality around your father’s title and station. There is no throne, no kingdom to rule. You are rightfully his heir, but a princeling in name only. This all loops back to the act of creation.” He pressed his hands together, smiling, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. “To building a kingdom of your own.”
“Creatio ex nihilo,” I said, almost automatically, the words already waiting at the tip of my tongue. “You don’t mean literally, surely?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Raziel shrugged. “But the fallen need someone to turn to, do they not? Imagine all the nephilim scattered all over the planet. You had zero understanding of who you were before all of this awakening business came along, the sigils on your chest, the arcane underground. Imagine how they would feel, lost and alone as they are.”
I looked down at my hands, then at Florian, who looked back at me with awe, and maybe a little pity. “I can’t handle that kind of responsibility.” My words came so softly that they surprised even me.
“And nor should you have to. But it’s something to think about, Mason. Ultimately, this would be your destiny. But you always have the freedom to choose. It’s in your blood. Rebellion is in your very nature, and I would be insane to try and stop it.”
“But what does all that have to do with Quilliam?” Florian plopped onto the floor, his body thudding heavily against the earth. It felt to me like he had a need to be grounded, like this information was overwhelming for him. I smiled flatly. Imagine how I felt.
“Ah, that’s the thing. In many ways, Quill is Mason’s opposite. We know little of the boy, but we do know that he has an impressive command of the arcane arts. It’s also clear that his parentage is not entirely human. This should be no surprise to you, but Quilliam J. Abernathy is part demon.”
“That bit I already had a hankering about.” I let my knees take me to the ground, arranging my legs across the grass as I sat. Just like Florian, I thought. I needed to be rooted to figure all this shit out. “But what about him being a princeling, and also part demon? What does that have to do with – oh no.”
Raziel tapped the side of his nose. “Precisely.”
Florian looked between us hurriedly, like he hadn’t yet made the connection. Then his eyes went wide as he caught up. “Oh. Uh-oh.”
I gathered my legs up underneath me, crossing them, my arms folded, like my body was trying to press itself into the smallest space possible. “He’s a child of the Seven.” I groaned, letting my head loll back as I stared accusingly at the sky. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Correct. Quilliam is a princeling because he is an heir to a crown. If his parent, whichever of the Seven that happens to be, should somehow perish – close to impossible, considering how desperately and violently the princes cling to their power – then he himself will ascend to their station.” Raziel looked at the grass, like he was considering joining us on the ground, but then he looked at his white jeans and thought better of it.
“Imagine that.” Florian’s eyes were still huge, his mouth hanging open as he paused. “Quill, one of the Seven.”
I punched my knuckles into the grass. “What a nightmare.”
“Agreed,” Raziel said. “Which is why I would caution the both of you to be very, very careful in your dealings with him.”
Too late, I thought. We slashed his tires and ruined his book. “See, that’s part of the problem now. I was led to believe that Quilliam was in possession of Laevateinn all along. Now we’re in a rut. Dead end, like.”
“The game’s not over yet.” Florian pointed at the sword, then the staff. “We’re two out of three, but that counts for nothing if we don’t retrieve the thing that Loki actually wants.”
“Ugh.” I collapsed on the ground, spreading my arms out and yawning as I stretched. “In the morning, please. It’s been such a day.”
“Agreed.” I turned to find Artemis, who clapped her hands twice, shutting off the sun. Her domicile immediately went dark as night, lit by a perfect moon and a canopy of stars. “Bed time, everybody. Lights out. Also, be sure to – well, hello there.”
“Uh-oh.” Raziel looked to me, then to Florian, wet eyes reflecting the stars as he silently, desperately begged for help. Hah. He was going to have to field this one. Served him right.
Artemis sidled up to him, one hand tucked into the pocket of her denim cut-offs, the other reaching across Raziel’s back and coming dangerously close to his neck.
“Listen,” Artemis said. “I thought we talked about this.”
