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“Fuck time, man. We’ve got to get me healed so I can pull my weight and start collecting more souls. How long was I out? How far behind are we because of this?”
“You were only out half the day, Mal, and you’re entitled to take as much time as you need to heal.”
Only half a day. Well, that was less time than I expected. Still, I’m excited to start reaping and for my turn to meet Lily.
“How long did the healer say until I was back to flying?”
Barbas’s gaze shifts to the ground and I know whatever the news is, it’s not good.
“The healer didn’t think it was likely that you’d fly again.”
I stumble forward, as much because of the news as my weakened state.
I can hardly wrap my head around the concept. Never fly again?
Eventually, Barbas and I manage to walk to the living space and get me seated in a new chair.
Those asshats had destroyed every chair we had except the one Barbas had been sitting in.
“You saved my life, Malphas. I will never be able to thank you for that.”
I wave Barbas’s thanks away. “You would have done the same for me,” I say and dismiss his sentiment and all thoughts of my maimed state fully by focusing on Typhon and Rhygel. “How are you two? And what are we doing about this nonsense?”
Rhygel, still standing in the threshold, seems bigger, more imposing, with fury.
It’s nice not having that directed at me for once.
“We’re both fine,” Typhon answers. “A little woozy from whatever they poisoned us with, but no worse than a hard night of good drinks.
“Good to hear. What’s the plan then? What are we doing about this?”
Rhygel starts to speak, mouth opening before it snaps closed again. He repeats this three more times until he’s finally able to form a sentence. “The council refuses to even reprimand anyone since we can’t identify our attackers. And since they were clever enough to barely stay on the right side of the law, the council isn’t willing to look into the matter further.”
I nod. “Fantastic. So anyone can simply break through our wards to torture and maim us, and the council isn’t going to do anything about it.”
“It appears that way,” Typhon says. “And I say, if the council doesn’t care about the rules, why should we? I say an eye for an eye. We return exactly what we were dealt.”
Rhygel nods. “I agree. We can’t allow other contenders to treat us this way. If we allow this to go unpunished, we’ve opened the door for anyone to do the same.”
“I don’t agree,” Barbas says. “Whoever this was knew what they were doing. They researched us, knew who to incapacitate first. I don’t think it was random, and I don’t think anyone else will try to follow suit. We don’t need to retaliate to save face. We need to focus on collecting souls and fortifying our wards. That’s it.”
“How can you even suggest that?” I say, lurching forward and wincing for my effort.
“Because I think it was done for far more nefarious reasons. They’re trying to divide our attention because they know we’re a threat. You said seven demons teamed up to do this? That’s seven demons who don’t want to see us place. So they break our chairs and a wing, knock us out and give me a good beating, just so we will retaliate, thus splitting our attention.
“What I’m saying is, if we’re focused on hatching plans to figure out who did this and how to hurt them, we’re not collecting souls, and that, gentlemen, is the only thing that matters.”
I sigh, both annoyed and moved by Barbas’s words. “When’d you get so smart?” I ask.
“We can do both,” Rhygel says. “At least for now, while Lily is getting used to us, only two of us need to be here in the dorm. The remaining two can look for clues about who attacked us.”
“Sure, we could do that.” Barbas’s quiet words don’t match the sardonic twist of his features. “But remember, all four of us were here, and they still kicked our teeth in. I think it’s better if we all stay put and use the Draco ward.”
Everyone in the room stops to gawk at Barbas.
“You can’t be serious,” Typhon scoffs.
“You know I am, brother.”
