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“So that’s how demons get around? The Seven, too?”
He scoffed. “No. Those go wherever they please. You helleport if you’re not that good at teleportation spells just yet.” He looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers sheepishly. “I’m still practicing.”
I scratched the side of my nose. Not once after his initial betrayal did I imagine a time when I would carry a conversation with Quilliam without wanting to run him through with a broadsword.
“Here. You’re chilly.” He thrust his hand out at me, a bundle of fabric in his fist. “Your jacket.”
“Oh, yeah. Um, thanks.” He watched as I shrugged it on, the hoodie feeling especially awkward against my bare skin.
“Nice tats.”
“Not my choice. They kind of just showed up.” I shrugged, zipping myself up. “Thanks for, um. Thanks for helping.” That last part, I slipped in as a mumble.
He shook his head. “Sure. Yeah. I did it for Mother. She wouldn’t be very happy if Belphegor skipped to the front of the line.”
I chewed the inside of my lip, considering my thoughts before expressing them. “Must be nice. Sounds like you care about her a lot.”
“Not like she cares for me at all,” he said, grumbling. “Who names their kid Quilliam?”
He had a point there, and I still didn’t know what the J stood for. “So, your mom’s one of the Seven, huh? Must be nice being that close to so much power.”
Quill shifted in place, chewing his bottom lip as his eyes flitted away from my face. “I don’t get involved in all that. Asmodeus will hold the title of Prince of Lust, forever and always. I’m just her kid.”
One of many, I thought. Surely demon princes could be just as prolific as, say, the Grigori, the fallen angels, or an equally fertile analogue, the Greek gods. “Prince of Lust, though? Is there a reason they don’t use princess?” I suspected I had an idea, but wanted to be sure.
“It’s the way infernal hierarchy has always worked. Those in power are called princes, plain and simple. Entities don’t care about petty things like gender. They only present themselves that way so that tiny human heads don’t explode from trying to grasp what they really look like. An angel is just a ball of fire wrapped in a human vessel so that your eyes don’t melt out of your head. A demon prince’s true form? You don’t want to know.”
I looked down at myself, studying my arms and my chest. “So I’m really a ball of fire, is what you’re saying.”
Quilliam rolled his eyes even harder, his lips parting as he prepared to say something scathing.
“And I’m a horse, and a giant, and a god, all in one.” The air shimmered, and Loki appeared between us, arms draped across our shoulders. Quill and I shook him off almost in the same instant. He leered at us, chuckling softly. “But the demon boy is right. Did you know that I’m both a father and a mother? I gave birth to an eight-legged horse. True story.”
“You’ve been here the whole time,” I growled, “and you did nothing to help? Not even when Belphegor was threatening your corporation’s existence? Isn’t that all you care about?”
“Wrong,” Loki said, wagging a finger. “I care about entertainment. Mischief. Chaos.” He spread his arms out, indicating the rooftop around him. “And the destruction of my garden was a small pric
e to pay for the most entertaining thing I’ve seen in ages. It was fun, boys. Until next time.”
Loki slid his hands into his trouser pockets, turned smartly on his heel, then walked off, melting into thin air.
I rubbed my forearm, still grimacing. “God. What a jerk.”
“Total jerk.” Quilliam frowned at the empty space where Loki’s body was just standing. I gave him a half smile, which he returned with a confused grunt. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends, you do realize?”
I bristled, raising my chin. “Of course not. You tried to kill me. Several times, in fact.”
Quill shrugged. “Mother would have loved you as a tribute. It started out as me wanting to wait for you to be weakened so I could bring you to her.” He showed me his teeth, and I realized that he was trying to smile. “But then you just got more and more annoying, so saying that I tried to kill you – well, that’s fair.”
“Bring me to Asmodeus as a tribute, though? Is that how you demons show affection? I know you’re only half, but that’s kind of fucked up. Whatever happened to flowers?”
He scowled. “I thought we just discussed this. I don’t have to explain myself to you. Like I said: We’re. Not. Friends.”
I shook my head. “You just have to ruin everything, don’t you? Fine. We’re not friends. But we didn’t try to rip each other’s hearts out tonight, so that counts for something.”
“If you say so.” Quill stepped away from me, moving onto a clear spot of floor. “See you around, nephilim. Stay alive.”
“Same to you, mama’s boy.”
