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“Quite the boy band. All friends of yours?”
He ignored the smart remark. “Do you know what those princes are associated with?”
“Torture? Fiery pits?”
“And the seven deadly sins.”
Right. I straightened in my chair. “Lucifer is pride.”
“Belphegor is sloth. Mammon, greed.”
“Beelzebub is gluttony.” I drummed my fingers on the table, trying to remember the lesson Pops had taught me. “Satan is wrath.”
“Livyatan is envy and Asmodeus is lust.” Dan watched me expectantly. “You see where I’m going with this.”
The idea took my breath away. It made sense. Fairhaven sat at a powerful crossroads. If the princes of hell decided to hand out sins the way environmental activists handed out fliers, it was no wonder the town was in chaos.
“It’s a solid theory. Why is Kane so sure you’re wrong?”
“Because he’s a prince of hell and thinks his finger is on the pulse of all the circles.”
“Are they here because of him?” If that were true, Kane’s response was understandable. The demon couldn’t bear the weight of that guilt.
“It’s the only reason I can think of. The animals are strange forms for them to take, though. That part doesn’t make sense. If they wanted to hide from Kane, they’d be less obvious about spreading their influence.”
I stared at the bottom of my empty glass, thinking. “So where does Kane fit in?”
Dan glanced up. “Pardon?”
“You named seven princes of hell and Kane wasn’t one of them. So, where does he fit in?”
“You won’t find him in any stories, and that’s how he likes it.” He drank. “Kane worked his way up to duke, doing everything Lucifer wanted.”
I didn’t want to contemplate that job description.
“Over time, he developed a conscience. He refused to torture souls and suggested alternative measures. You can imagine how that was received. Anyway, he eventually got wind that Lucifer planned to appoint himself the supreme king of all the circles.”
“And Kane tried to stop him?”
Dan blew out a breath, as though remembering it in detail. “He launched a revolution. Fought Lucifer on full display for all the legions to witness. Claimed the title of prince and banished Lucifer from the circles of hell.”
“Kane took control of Lucifer’s circle so that Lucifer couldn’t control all the circles?”
Dan nodded. “He knew firsthand what Lucifer was capable of, and he didn’t want to inflict that on the other circles.”
“He’s kind of soft for a demon.”
A smile touched Dan’s lips. “I won’t tell him you said that.”
I swirled the liquid in my glass. “What happened next?” Kane’s presence in Fairhaven made it clear his victory was short-lived.
“The short version is that Kane was betrayed. Lucifer returned to hell and reclaimed his circle. The pain and suffering were beyond anything hell had ever seen.”
“Lucifer sounds like a lot of fun at parties.”
Dan snorted. “He used Kane’s newfound enlightenment against him, threatening to extend his cruel warfare beyond the circles of hell unless Kane surrendered.”
I closed my eyes. “And don’t tell me the idiot surrendered.”
