Me and My Shadow
Page 52
Cyrene gasped. “Lies! Scandalous lies! You take that back!”
Jim made a motion that on a human would be a shrug. “OK, OK, don’t get your panties in a wad. I take it back. Magoth didn’t beat the snot out of Fiat. There was enough left in him to brain Magoth a few times on the rack over there before Cyrene bopped him upside the head with a cat.”
Cyrene, to my extreme surprise, was holding a rust-stained cat-o’-nine-tails, swinging it gently from side to side. “That was purely self-defense, and thus doesn’t fall under the heading of bad,” she said, giving the cat a little twirl. “I knew if Fiat had me alone, he’d try to claim me.”
I let the claiming comment go and eyed my twin for a few seconds. “Why the sudden emphasis on being good? Oh, Cy. You’re not in trouble again, are you?”
“No,” she said quickly, but her gaze dropped. “Not really. It’s just that Neptune is still a bit annoyed about that whole thing with letting my spring get tainted while I was taking care of Kostya, and when he gave it back to me last month, he made me swear that I wouldn’t do anything that could be considered detrimental to either the Otherworld or the mortal world for a year, or he’ll take away the spring permanently. And you know I couldn’t let him do that.”
“No, of course not,” I said, mentally giving kudos to Neptune. Perhaps he could control my wild twin where I could not.
“He really is the most unreasonable of persons, you know. He’s all blond and surfer boy, and has those lovely white teeth, and really impressive biceps, but he’s not at all as scatterbrained as he looks. And I swear he has it in for me. He’s always picking on me.”
I let that comment go, too, and focused on what was important. “We need to get out of here. Door?”
“Bolted from the other side,” Jim said, getting up off Fiat and shambling over to me, nuzzling my hand for a moment before cocking a canine eyebrow. “Any other bright ideas?”
I glanced around the room. “Not really. Cy, is there anything you can do?”
“Flood the room?” she asked, also looking around.
“That would do nothing but drown us.”
She stilled for a moment, her eyes closed as she opened herself up to the earth. “The pond is too shallow, and the stream is at its lowest peak. Neither source would be effective against the foundation of the house. Other than those two, there are no sources of water nearby that I could use.”
“Damn.” I eyed Jim. “I know demon lords can move through space the way demons can, but I don’t know how to do it. Do you have any pointers?”
“Yeah. Don’t do it.”
“Why not?” I asked the demon.
It shook its head. “Aisling tried it and got proscribed. I don’t think you want to end up that way, because it would give Bael some sort of control over you, what with you being bound to Magoth and all.”
“Good point,” I said, reluctantly releasing the idea of using the dark power. “What we need is for a demon to rip open the fabric of space for us so we could leave.”
“We have a demon,” Cyrene said, pointing to Jim.
“No can do,” it answered, shaking its head. “I’d like to, but I can’t. Gotta have a direct order from my demon lord. My real demon lord, not someone with the temporary ability to command me.”
“Damn,” I said again, thinking furiously. “We could wait for Gabriel to save us, but that could take longer than we have.”
“There’s Magoth,” Cyrene said, poking him with the toe of her sandal. He moaned gently.
“I am not giving him his powers while he’s in the mortal world,” I said hastily.
“No, not all of them—just the ability to travel through rips and such.”
I thought about that for a minute, then looked at Jim. “Is that possible?”
“Maybe for someone who was familiar with the power, and had a firm grip on it, but you?” It made a little face. “Nope. Not doable.”
“What about Jim?” Cyrene asked brightly.
“I just told you I can’t do that without a direct order—”
“No, no,” she interrupted, turning to me with a sunny smile. “What if you give Jim Magoth’s powers? Then it can open up a rip for us and we can escape.”
“Leaving Jim in full possession of a demon lord’s powers,” I pointed out.
“I am so behind that idea,” Jim said.
“Well, I’m not. Cy—it’s a demon. As in . . . demon.”
“Why do people always talk about me like I’m not here?” Jim asked no one in particular.
“It’s a good demon,” she pointed out.
She had a point. Not a big one, but it was a point. I eyed Jim for a few moments, amused despite myself by the big puppy dog eyes it was giving me. “No,” I said, deciding it was just too big of a risk. “I can’t do it.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, then give the powers to me,” she said, disgusted.
“You? Miss ‘I am the purest thing that ever walked on two legs’? The one who pledged an oath to not do anything wrong for the next year? I bet Neptune would take a dim view of a proscribed naiad.”
She whomped me on the arm. “I’m an elemental being, silly. We can’t be proscribed.”
“You can’t?” I’d never heard that before. “Since when?”
“Since always. Why do you think I survived Magoth enthralling me? A thrall kills most beings, but not us. Elemental beings are particularly resistant to dark powers. Everyone knows that.”
“I didn’t know,” I said slowly, wishing for a second that doppelgangers were considered elemental beings.
“Well, now you do. And don’t pull Neptune on me again—using the power to get us out of here is a good act, not bad. He can’t say a thing about it.”
“Yes, but who’s to say that you won’t inadvertently use the powers in some other way?”
She straightened up, giving me a look that was almost intimidating. “I am over a thousand years old, Mayling. I think I can handle a little demonic power.”
I wasn’t convinced, but after another twenty minutes of arguing the point, I conceded that there really was no other option, and proceeded to—reluctantly, and with many dire warnings regarding the misuse thereof—transfer the power to her.
Jim made a motion that on a human would be a shrug. “OK, OK, don’t get your panties in a wad. I take it back. Magoth didn’t beat the snot out of Fiat. There was enough left in him to brain Magoth a few times on the rack over there before Cyrene bopped him upside the head with a cat.”
Cyrene, to my extreme surprise, was holding a rust-stained cat-o’-nine-tails, swinging it gently from side to side. “That was purely self-defense, and thus doesn’t fall under the heading of bad,” she said, giving the cat a little twirl. “I knew if Fiat had me alone, he’d try to claim me.”
I let the claiming comment go and eyed my twin for a few seconds. “Why the sudden emphasis on being good? Oh, Cy. You’re not in trouble again, are you?”
“No,” she said quickly, but her gaze dropped. “Not really. It’s just that Neptune is still a bit annoyed about that whole thing with letting my spring get tainted while I was taking care of Kostya, and when he gave it back to me last month, he made me swear that I wouldn’t do anything that could be considered detrimental to either the Otherworld or the mortal world for a year, or he’ll take away the spring permanently. And you know I couldn’t let him do that.”
“No, of course not,” I said, mentally giving kudos to Neptune. Perhaps he could control my wild twin where I could not.
“He really is the most unreasonable of persons, you know. He’s all blond and surfer boy, and has those lovely white teeth, and really impressive biceps, but he’s not at all as scatterbrained as he looks. And I swear he has it in for me. He’s always picking on me.”
I let that comment go, too, and focused on what was important. “We need to get out of here. Door?”
“Bolted from the other side,” Jim said, getting up off Fiat and shambling over to me, nuzzling my hand for a moment before cocking a canine eyebrow. “Any other bright ideas?”
I glanced around the room. “Not really. Cy, is there anything you can do?”
“Flood the room?” she asked, also looking around.
“That would do nothing but drown us.”
She stilled for a moment, her eyes closed as she opened herself up to the earth. “The pond is too shallow, and the stream is at its lowest peak. Neither source would be effective against the foundation of the house. Other than those two, there are no sources of water nearby that I could use.”
“Damn.” I eyed Jim. “I know demon lords can move through space the way demons can, but I don’t know how to do it. Do you have any pointers?”
“Yeah. Don’t do it.”
“Why not?” I asked the demon.
It shook its head. “Aisling tried it and got proscribed. I don’t think you want to end up that way, because it would give Bael some sort of control over you, what with you being bound to Magoth and all.”
“Good point,” I said, reluctantly releasing the idea of using the dark power. “What we need is for a demon to rip open the fabric of space for us so we could leave.”
“We have a demon,” Cyrene said, pointing to Jim.
“No can do,” it answered, shaking its head. “I’d like to, but I can’t. Gotta have a direct order from my demon lord. My real demon lord, not someone with the temporary ability to command me.”
“Damn,” I said again, thinking furiously. “We could wait for Gabriel to save us, but that could take longer than we have.”
“There’s Magoth,” Cyrene said, poking him with the toe of her sandal. He moaned gently.
“I am not giving him his powers while he’s in the mortal world,” I said hastily.
“No, not all of them—just the ability to travel through rips and such.”
I thought about that for a minute, then looked at Jim. “Is that possible?”
“Maybe for someone who was familiar with the power, and had a firm grip on it, but you?” It made a little face. “Nope. Not doable.”
“What about Jim?” Cyrene asked brightly.
“I just told you I can’t do that without a direct order—”
“No, no,” she interrupted, turning to me with a sunny smile. “What if you give Jim Magoth’s powers? Then it can open up a rip for us and we can escape.”
“Leaving Jim in full possession of a demon lord’s powers,” I pointed out.
“I am so behind that idea,” Jim said.
“Well, I’m not. Cy—it’s a demon. As in . . . demon.”
“Why do people always talk about me like I’m not here?” Jim asked no one in particular.
“It’s a good demon,” she pointed out.
She had a point. Not a big one, but it was a point. I eyed Jim for a few moments, amused despite myself by the big puppy dog eyes it was giving me. “No,” I said, deciding it was just too big of a risk. “I can’t do it.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, then give the powers to me,” she said, disgusted.
“You? Miss ‘I am the purest thing that ever walked on two legs’? The one who pledged an oath to not do anything wrong for the next year? I bet Neptune would take a dim view of a proscribed naiad.”
She whomped me on the arm. “I’m an elemental being, silly. We can’t be proscribed.”
“You can’t?” I’d never heard that before. “Since when?”
“Since always. Why do you think I survived Magoth enthralling me? A thrall kills most beings, but not us. Elemental beings are particularly resistant to dark powers. Everyone knows that.”
“I didn’t know,” I said slowly, wishing for a second that doppelgangers were considered elemental beings.
“Well, now you do. And don’t pull Neptune on me again—using the power to get us out of here is a good act, not bad. He can’t say a thing about it.”
“Yes, but who’s to say that you won’t inadvertently use the powers in some other way?”
She straightened up, giving me a look that was almost intimidating. “I am over a thousand years old, Mayling. I think I can handle a little demonic power.”
I wasn’t convinced, but after another twenty minutes of arguing the point, I conceded that there really was no other option, and proceeded to—reluctantly, and with many dire warnings regarding the misuse thereof—transfer the power to her.
